ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Asda

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date meetings have taken place between her Department andrepresentatives of Asda, including Asda's parent company, Wal-Mart, in the last 12 months; and if she will list the participants.

Jim Knight: Given the very wide range of goods and outlets involved, the retail sector is affected by more regulations than any other sector. Consequently, major retailers will have regular contact with many departments and may also be involved in working and consultative groups. To list every meeting would involve disproportionate cost, so the following information relates to key meetings only.
	In the last 12 months, meetings between DEFRA officials and Asda/Wal-Mart took place on 22 July 2005, 11 November 2005, 8 February 2006 and 3 March 2006. In addition, a meeting with DEFRA Ministers took place on 8 December 2005. Data privacy legislation makes it inappropriate to list the participants in those meetings.

Biological Diversity

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the conclusions of the eighth Conference of Parties on Biological Diversity.

Jim Knight: The eighth Conference of Parties to the CBD was held in Curitiba, Brazil from 20–31 March 2006. I attended the High Level Segment (HLS) from 26–28 March. During this period I co-hosted, with the Brazilian Deputy Environment Minister, Claudio Langone, a breakfast with business representatives attended by over 40 Ministers. I also had bilateral discussions with other Ministers and met representatives of UK stakeholders.
	The COP adopted decisions on over 30 issues, including a new work programme on island biodiversity, and gave new impetus to capacity building for implementation of the convention in developing countries. Other key outcomes included:
	an agreement to analyse and explore options for preventing and mitigating impacts of activities on deep seabed genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction
	a renewed call for urgent action to tackle destructive fishing practices
	an invitation to the UN General Assembly to follow up work on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including assessing the need for an implementing agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
	a decision on access and benefit sharing of genetic resources to progress rapidly the negotiation of an international regime, with a view to completing the work before the 10th Conference of the Parties in 2010
	the adoption of a global framework of targets and indicators to be reviewed after 2010 which will provide for a structured assessment of the 2010 biodiversity target
	actions to engage business in minimising the impact of its activities on biodiversity
	a number of actions relating to climate change and biodiversity including follow up with other biodiversity conventions
	recognition of the need to consider biodiversity in development-planning systems including poverty reduction strategies
	recommendation of approaches to addressing gaps in the international regime for tackling invasive alien species
	a streamlined and outcome orientated approach to national reporting which will support future editions of the global biodiversity outlook
	strengthened activities in the forest work programme relating to Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and a precautionary approach to the use of GMO trees
	a decision on agricultural biodiversity including elements on food and nutrition, soil biodiversity and Genetic Use Restriction Technology (GURTS) which reaffirmed the precautionary approach to GURTS taken in decision V/5, adopted in 2000.

Pollution

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the levels of (a) carbon dioxide emissions and (b) greenhouse gas emissions were in the UK in each year since 1990; what the percentage change was in each year on (i) 1990 and (ii) 1997 levels; and what the breakdown in each year in emissions was between (1) industry, (2) transport, including separately (A) cars, (B) planes, (3) households, (4) the commercial sector, (5) the service sector and (6) other sources.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 20 April 2006
	UK net emissions of carbon dioxide—all sources minus all sinks—and total greenhouse gas emissions for 1990–2004 are presented in the table, along with the percentage change for each year compared to 1990 and 1997. The data exclude emissions from the overseas territories that are associated with the UK's ratifications of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. The sector breakdown is consistent with that presented in the UK's climate change programme published in March 2006. Total UK greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation are also shown, but do not contribute towards the UK total in accordance with international guidelines.
	
		
			  1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 
		
		
			 Million tonnes carbon equivalent (MtC) 
			 CO 2  net emissions (total sources minus total sinks) 161.5 163.3 158.7 154.6 152.5 149.9 155.8 149.6 
			 Total GHG net emissions 209.0 210.1 203.3 197.6 194.7 191.9 198.1 191.9 
			 Percentage change from 1990 for CO 2 — 1.1 -1.7 -4.2 -5.6 -7.2 -3.5 -7.4 
			 Percentage change from 1997 for CO 2 — — — — — — — — 
			 Percentage change from 1990 for all GHGs — 0.6 -2.7 -5.5 -6.8 -8.1 -5.2 -8.2 
			 Percentage change from 1997 for all GHGs — — — — — — — — 
			 Total GHG sector emissions 
			 Energy Supply 74.4 74.3 71.3 66.0 63.2 63.1 63.4 58.9 
			 Business 57.5 56.9 53.8 52.8 53.8 52.5 53.6 53.2 
			 Transport 34.1 33.7 34.0 34.4 34.5 34.3 35.7 36.1 
			 Road transport 30.4 30.1 30.5 31.0 31.2 31.0 32.3 32.8 
			 Domestic aviation 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 
			 Domestic 22.2 24.6 23.9 24.9 23.7 22.5 25.6 23.8 
			 Public 3.7 3.9 4.1 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.9 3.8 
			 Other sources 17.0 16.8 16.2 15.7 15.9 15.9 16.0 16.0 
			 International aviation 4.3 4.3 4.7 5.0 5.2 5.5 5.9 6.2 
		
	
	
		
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 CO 2  net emissions (total sources minus total sinks) 150.1 147.5 149.0 153.1 148.6 151.7 152.5 
			 Total GHG net emissions 190.0 180.3 180.5 182.6 177.1 178.8 178.9 
			 Percentage change from 1990 for CO 2 -7.1 -8.7 -7.7 -5.2 -8.0 -6.0 -5.6 
			 Percentage change from 1997 for CO 2 0.3 -1 .4 -0.4 2.4 -0.6 1 .5 2.0 
			 Percentage change from 1990 for all GHGs -9.1 -13.7 -13.6 -12.6 -15.3 -14.4 -14.4 
			 Percentage change from 1997 for all GHGs -1 .0 -6.1 -6.0 -4.9 -7.7 -6.8 -6.8 
			 Total GHG net emissions 
			 Energy Supply 59.3 55.8 58.2 60.7 60.2 61.6 61.4 
			 Business 51.2 45.1 43.8 43.1 38.4 38.7 38.7 
			 Transport 35.9 36.2 36.0 35.9 36.7 36.9 37.4 
			 Road transport 32.7 33.0 32.9 32.9 33.7 33.7 34.0 
			 Domestic aviation 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 
			 Domestic 24.6 24.4 24.6 25.6 25.2 25.1 25.3 
			 Public 3.5 3.5 3.2 3.4 2.9 2.9 2.9 
			 Other sources 15.6 15.3 14.7 13.8 13.8 13.6 13.2 
			 International aviation 7.0 7.6 8.3 8.1 8.0 8.2 9.1 
		
	
	Sources:
	Agriculture, forestry and land management

Farming

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the total number of farms in (a) England, (b) the South West, (c) Somerset and (d) Taunton constituency.

Jim Knight: Based on data from the June 2005 agricultural survey, the number of registered agricultural and horticultural holdings is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 (a) England 195,908 
			 (b) South West 49,714 
			 (c) Somerset constituency 8,551 
			 (d) Taunton constituency 1,915

Farming

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the banking industry on the provision of financial support to farmers who do not receive single farm payments by the end of March.

Jim Knight: My noble Friend Lord Bach met the British Bankers Association and other representatives of the major lending banks on 30 March to discuss the situation of farmers awaiting payment under the single payment scheme.
	After the meeting, the following joint statement was issued:
	We have agreed that we will continue to work closely together in ensuring that farmers awaiting payment are offered support and help wherever possible. We recognise that these are difficult times for many farmers and that a flexible approach on all sides is required.
	Lord Bach confirmed the new steps being taken by the RPA to speed up the validation and authorisation of payments, which the banks welcomed.
	The banks re-emphasised that no viable business is being refused additional financial support and, as a result, no viable businesses are failing because of uncertainty about the payments timetable."

Traveller-related Crime

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Home Office on Traveller-related crime in rural areas.

Jim Knight: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is the lead Department for issues relating to Gypsies and Travellers, and DEFRA welcomes its work on a range of initiatives, including provision of sites and law enforcement.
	There are regular discussions between DEFRA and the Home Office at official and ministerial levels about all aspects of crime in the rural community. Our discussions cover all those living in rural areas—both the travelling and the settled communities. For example, DEFRA is working with colleagues across government on a Home Office initiative to reduce hate crime.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General whether he plans to provide Crown prosecutors with electronic equipment to enable them to update the case management system at court as recommended in the National Audit Office report, HC 798 2005–06.

Mike O'Brien: The National Audit Office recommended that prosecutors should use palmtops to update the case management system while they are presenting cases at court. The Crown Prosecution Service is exploring the practical and technical issues raised by the recommendation. The CPS is making better use of information technology through the COMPASS programme and the COMPASS case management system. Prosecutors at most magistrates courts have access to information technology and the case management system.

Crown Prosecution Service

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps he plans to take to improve the way in which the Crown Prosecution Service prepares and brings cases to court in order to achieve better value for money from magistrates court hearings.

Mike O'Brien: The Crown Prosecution Service welcomed the recommendations contained in the recent National Audit Office report on the effective use of magistrates court hearings by the CPS. The CPS is already taking forward work on the recommendations, which focus on improving joint working with other criminal justice agencies, maintaining proper oversight of cases, and making more prosecutor time available for review and preparation. By their nature, each of the NAO recommendations is aimed at improving value for money.
	Many of the recommendations go with the grain of performance improvement activity already in train, both internally within the CPS and externally with other criminal justice partners. Chief Crown Prosecutors continue to take the lead at a local area level in setting up arrangements with the police and courts to improve the efficiency of prosecution of magistrates court cases—for example, optimising the deployment of designated caseworkers at the magistrates court, a more focused approach to case progression, and an internal CPS structural exercise seeking to get the best match between the size of police divisions and magistrates court catchment areas in order to develop a more efficient model of CPS administration for standard application across all operational units and provide proper oversight of cases.

Crown Prosecution Service

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps he plans to take to improve the Crown Prosecution Service's performance in ensuring that trials and hearings in magistrates courts go ahead at the time allocated.

Mike O'Brien: The Crown Prosecution Service is involved at a local and national level in a number of projects and programmes to improve the effectiveness of trials and other court hearings. The CPS has contributed to the successful roll-out of the Effective Trial Management Programme" across all 42 areas and to a continuing reduction in the number and proportion of ineffective trials.
	More recently, the CPS has been contributing to a review of the magistrates court led by Lord Justice Thomas, the Senior Presiding Judge, which is focused on streamlining cases through magistrates courts. TheCPS is playing an active part in this project, part of the Criminal Justice, Simple, Speedy, Summary Initiative", recently announced by the Lord Chancellor.
	Due to performance improvement flowing from the joint police/CPS charging initiative, and changes to the process applied by the court at the start of proceeding, it is intended that many more cases will be ready to proceed at the first hearing. This will rely on the right charge having been preferred; victim and witness needs assessments having been undertaken; witnesses' dates to avoid having been obtained should they be required to give evidence; any special measures having been identified; and advance information having been served on the defence and the court.
	The revised process is about to be trialled at four magistrates court centres, prior to wider roll-out, following evaluation. The process should incentivise the guilty defendant to enter a plea at the earliest possible stage. In those cases where the defendant intends to contest the allegations, the process should also enable the court to isolate the triable issues with the parties and adjourn the case for trial, with the shared expectation that it will proceed to trial on the date fixed without further adjournment.

Crown Prosecution Service

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement on the report by the National Audit Office (HC 798 2005–06) that £24 million of losses occasioned in the magistrates courts in 2005 were caused by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mike O'Brien: The National Audit Office report estimated that ineffective trials and hearings cost the criminal justice system £173 million. Of that sum it is suggested that the CPS was responsible for £24 million, the defence for £96 million, the police for £24 million, the courts for £21 million and the police and the CPS together for a further £8 million. Criticisms about the CPS's management and handling of cases are being addressed. The NAO found examples of good practice and the recommendations will help improve performance. The CPS is working with the police and the courts to improve performance in magistrates courts. The proportion of ineffective trials has declined from 31 per cent. in 2002 to 21 per cent. in September 2005.

Public Prosecution Service (Northern Ireland)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Solicitor-General how many people are employed by the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland; and how many are expected to be employed by the end of 2006.

Mike O'Brien: The Public Prosecution Service currently has some 450 staff. By August 2006 it is expected that the number of staff will increase to 500 as new accommodation in Belfast becomes available. In 2007, when the service is fully operational throughout Northern Ireland, it is expected that the number of staff will be in the region of 600.

Public Prosecution Service (Northern Ireland)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps are being taken to ensure that there will be a reasonable cross-section of the community at large in each of the regional offices of the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland.

Mike O'Brien: All staff for the Public Prosecution Service are recruited by the Northern Ireland Civil Service. Recruitment is on merit and carried out through open competition in accordance with fair employment and equal opportunities best practice and guidance as issued by the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners.

WALES

Climate Change

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how the proposals to deliver Government strategies to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change as set out in the United Kingdom Climate Change programme, Cm 6764, will be implemented in Wales.

Peter Hain: The Government and the devolved administrations published an updated UK climate change programme on 28 March. It proposes a range of measures to take forward our national response to climate change. These include supporting increased generation from renewable sources, encouraging the installation of energy efficiency measures in households, providing more reliable consumer product information, supporting more sustainable transport choices, introducing higher standards for efficiency in buildings and financing energy efficiency measures for public sector organisations.
	The Welsh Assembly Government's environment strategy for Wales and its accompanying action plan, to be published shortly, will provide further details of steps to be taken to address climate change in Wales.

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) the websites operated by his Department and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office operates www.walesoffice.gov.uk and its parallel Welsh language site www.swyddfa.cymru.gov.uk
	No reports were placed by the Wales Office on the internet in March 2006.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Business Links

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how his targets on diversity and equality apply to contractors to the Business Links scheme.

Alun Michael: As from April 2005, responsibility for the local delivery of Business Link services was transferred from the Small Business Service to the regional development agencies. Regional development agencies are independent bodies. As scheduled bodies under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the public sector race duty requires regional development agencies to have a duty to make race equality a central part of their functions. Similar duties are being introduced for gender and disability.

Business Incorporation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the forms required to start a business in (a) 1990 and (b) 2005.

Barry Gardiner: To incorporate a company in 1990 applicants had to file the following forms and documents on paper with Companies House:
	Form 10—statement of first directors and secretary and intended situation of registered office
	Form 12—declaration of compliance
	Memorandum of Association
	Articles of Association
	The same information had to be filed in 2005.
	Not all businesses choose to incorporate. For example, sole traders and partnerships do not have to complete these forms.
	Over 85 per cent. of companies are now incorporated electronically. The electronic process can take a matter of minutes and costs £15; the equivalent paper service cost £50 in 1990.

Computer Access (Disadvantaged Groups)

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to bring forward schemes to assist disadvantaged groups to gain access to computers; and what involvement he anticipates the private sector will have in the delivery of these schemes.

Alun Michael: Discussions are already taking place between my Department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and other Government Departments on addressing the important issue of digital inclusion.
	The Government digital strategy, Connecting the UK", sets out a number of actions that contribute to digital inclusion and encourage and facilitate participation in a digital society. We need to now find workable solutions for those hard to reach groups that most need assistance.
	This is quite clearly a complex question and I believe the appropriate approach is to engage with all the relevant stakeholders, including those representing excluded and vulnerable groups, before arriving at conclusions about the best way forward.

Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry whether reference has been made to the Serious Fraud Office about breaches of section 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the answerI gave him on 6 March 2006, Official Report, column 1154W.

Contracts (Voluntary Sector)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many contracts are let by his Department to voluntary sector organisations; of those how many are let on an annual basis; and of those how many had received finalised contracts for 2006–07 by 31 March.

Alan Johnson: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Correspondence

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford of 20 December 2005 on behalf of Ms Michelle Langton of Galleywood, Chelmsford.

Alan Johnson: My hon. Friend the Minister for Employment Relations responded to the hon. Member on 16 January 2006.

Defence Export Services Organisation

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the staff of the Defence Export Services Organisation are engaged in facilitating sales to (a) Israel and (b) Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	The Defence Export Services Organisation implements Government policy in respect of supporting legitimate defence exports by industry to a range of countries, including Israel and Saudi Arabia. Export licensing policy requires the Government to take into account concerns that proposed defence exports might be used for internal repression or international aggression, risks to regional stability, or other considerations.
	Currently, less than 1 per cent. of DESO staff are engaged in export-related business to Israel and around 40 per cent. to Saudi Arabia. The latter figure includes staff in the Saudi Project Office who undertake a range of tasks principally associated with the performance of existing contracts.

Departmental Staff

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what proportion of (a) staff and (b) new staff employed in (i) his Department and (ii) each of the agencies for which he has responsibility were registered as disabled in each of the last three years for which data are available.

Alan Johnson: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the civil service by Department. These include data on the number of staff in departments who have declared a disability.
	The latest available information at April 2004 is available in the Libraries of the House and on the civil service website at the following addresses:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/publications/xls/disability_apr04_4nov04.xls
	for data relating to 1 April 2004, and
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/archive/index.asp
	for previous reporting periods.
	Between 1 April 2003 and 1 March 2006, 2.6 per cent. of new staff employed by DTI chose to declare a disability. Declaration of a disability is voluntary.
	Information is not available for DTI agencies and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Astronomy Projects

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the cost to (a) the UK and (b) each participating country of the (i) EU Extremely Large Telescope project and (ii) design study for the EU ELT project; which agency is responsible for the UK's contribution to the costs of the project; and if he will make a statement on the progress of the project.

Barry Gardiner: The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council is responsible for UK participation in astronomy research projects.
	The international astronomical community is currently reviewing options for the building of an extremely large telescope with a diameter of between 40 and 60 metres. The total cost of a European ELT project would be about €750 million. The UK would have access to this ELT through its membership of the European Southern Observatory.
	The share of costs in the project is still to be finally determined, but if it is funded through the ESO subscription the UK's share of the costs would be about 20 per cent.
	The design study required for the European ELT project involves 30 organisations from 11 countries, and a total of €30 million has been provided for this phase of the project. This includes €12 million from the 30 organisations involved in the project, of which PPARC is investing a total of €2.4 million (spread over four years until 2008–09), €9.5 million from ESO, and €8.5 million from the European Union. It is not possible to give a more detailed breakdown of the investments made by each of the countries involved in the project.

Entrepreneurs (South-West)

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will break down by city in the south west the figures produced for the percentage of would-be entrepreneurs aged 16 to 24 years and 16 to 64 years in the south west as set out in the Small Business Service Household Survey of Entrepreneurship 2003.

Alun Michael: A breakdown of the Small Business Service Household Survey of Entrepreneurship 2003 results by city is not possible since there are too few interviews in many cities to provide statistically reliable estimates.
	However, the percentages of would-be entrepreneurs for the whole of the south west, and for all of England, are available.
	Of those aged 16 to 24 years in the south west Government Office region, it is estimated that 19 per cent. are would-be entrepreneurs, compared with an England average of 14 per cent.
	Of those aged 16 to 64 years in the south west Government Office region, it is estimated that 11 per cent. are would-be entrepreneurs, the same as the England average of 11 per cent.

EU Social Chapter

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if he will list the occasions on which the UK has voted against the adoption of measures under the social chapter of the treaty on European Union since 1997;
	(2)  if he will list the directives and regulations with which the UK must comply in order to meet the requirements of the social chapter of the treaty on European Union;
	(3)  if he will list the statutory instruments that have given effect to the directives and other EU legislation passed in consequence of the adoption of the social chapter of the treaty on European Union;
	(4)  if he will list the changes to (a) working hours, (b) holidays, (c) maternity and paternity leave and (d) other terms and conditions of employment resulting from the UK's adoption of the social chapter of the treaty on European Union.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In 1991, in what was then the social chapter, the EU provided for member states to reach agreement on certain aspects of social policy. In 1997 the UK ended its opt out from the social chapter, which was then fully incorporated into the Amsterdam treaty in June 1997, coming into force in May 1999.
	Since 1997 the Government have not voted against the adoption of any measures introduced as a result of the social chapter.
	Directives introduced as a result of the social chapter, UK implementing legislation, and their effect are:
	The burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex directive
	Implemented in the UK by the Sex Discrimination (Indirect Discrimination and Burden of Proof) Regulations 2001. These provide that once a prima facie case has been made in an employment tribunal claim, the burden of proof is placed on the defendant (usually the employer) who will need to demonstrate that sex discrimination has not occurred.
	The part-time workers directive
	Implemented in the UK by the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. These provide for entitlement of part-time workers to the same pro-rata terms and conditions of employment as full-time workers;
	The fixed term work directive
	Implemented in the UK by the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002. These provide equal treatment and prevent abuse of fixed term contracts;
	National information and consultation directive
	Implemented in the UK by the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004. These provide for new minimum standards for workforce consultation and involvement in firms with 50 or more employees;
	Parental leave directive
	Implemented in the UK by the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999. These provide for parents to have the right to 13 weeks unpaid leave at the birth or adoption of a child;
	European Works Council directive
	Implemented in the UK by the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999. These require companies with at least 1,000 employees in total across the member states and at least 150 workers in each of two or more of those member states, to establish structures for consulting workers on issues that affect them.
	Directive amending the 1976 directive on equal treatment for men and women in employment and vocational training
	This directive incorporates European Court of Justice case law and strengthens the principle of equal treatment and the way it works in practice. Implemented in the UK by the Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005, these amend the Sex Discrimination Act and Equal Pay Act in respect of employment and vocational training.

Consumer Protection (Holidays)

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he has taken to ensure that British holidaymakers are able to seek some form of financial redress in appropriate instances where travellers are not undertaking a traditional package holiday; and if he will make a statement on the responsibilities of travel operators providing non-package holidays to ensure that compensation is made available for customers in the event of problems with that provision.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/3288) place certain liabilities on businesses which fall within the regime for the proper performance of the contract, and requires them to provide sufficient evidence of security for the refund of money and repatriation in the event of insolvency. The regulations apply to businesses which organise, or sell, or offer to sell, at an inclusive price a pre-arranged combination of at least two of the following elements: travel; accommodation; and, other tourist services.
	The regulations implement the Package Travel Directive (90/314/EEC) which is one of eight consumer facing directives currently undergoing review by the European Commission. We have not yet received any proposals for change to this directive from the Commission.
	Holidaymakers who choose to make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation as separate items do not benefit from the provisions of the regulations, as there is no third party putting together a package of arrangements for them. However, those individual businesses with whom the holidaymaker contracts for services are obliged to meet their contractual obligations to the holidaymaker in the normal manner.
	The Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL) scheme provides financial protection for package holiday travellers, including protection against airline bankruptcy. ATOL does not cover independently booked flights. For these flights, several airlines have agreed voluntary repatriation measures to ensure that stranded passengers are returned home at moderate cost. As regards refunds, several airlines now offer insurance against insolvency, and include notices on their websites highlighting the benefits of such insurance. The Government have also recently stressed the need for travellers to take out insurance against a range of misfortunes or expenses which can occur abroad.

Consumer Protection (Holidays)

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent by consumers on (a) package holidays and (b) non-package holidays in each of the last 20 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Office for National Statistics holds records of the type requested in respect of overseas visits by UK residents only, for the years 1993 to 2004 inclusive. These are reproduced in the following table. Iam not aware of any similarly extrapolated figures for package and non-package trips by UK residents within the UK.
	
		International passenger surveyUK residents visits abroad (holidays only)—1993 to 2004
		
			   Visits (thousand) Spending (£ million) 
		
		
			 1993 Independent 11,533 3,803 
			  Non-independent (package) 13,600 5,256 
			 1994 Independent 12,096 4,032 
			  Non-independent (package) 15,092 5,994 
			 1995 Independent 12,641 4,258 
			  Non-independent (package) 15,166 6,167 
			 1996 Independent 12,864 4,617 
			  Non-independent (package) 13,901 5,993 
			 1997 Independent 13,745 4,897 
			  Non-independent (package) 15,393 6,210 
			 1998 Independent 14,869 5,582 
			  Non-independent (package) 17,437 6,913 
			 1999 Independent 15,946 6,610 
			  Non-independent (package) 19,077 7,945 
			 2000 Independent 16,630 7,161 
			  Non-independent (package) 20,055 8,623 
			 2001 Independent 18,039 7,934 
			  Non-independent (package) 20,631 9,384 
			 2002 Independent 19,264 8,846 
			  Non-independent (package) 20,638 9,730 
			 2003 Independent 21,683 10,138 
			  Non-independent (package) 19,515 9,649 
			 2004 Independent 23,109 10,850 
			  Non-independent (package) 19,803 10,303 
		
	
	Source:
	International Passenger Survey, Office for National Statistics

Home Computing Initiative Scheme

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many small businesses enrolled in the Home Computing Initiative Scheme in each year since 1999, broken down by region.

Alun Michael: holding answer 18 April 2006
	I am unable to provide a statistical breakdown of how many small businesses enrolled in the Home Computing Initiative Scheme in each year since 1999 or by region because this information is not available. However, recent figures provided by the Office of Trading tell us that nearly 4,000 approvals or HCI Group Directions under s101 (8) Consumer Credit Act (CCA) 1974 had been issued by OFT since January 1999. We are unable to break this list down by region or by size of business.

ICSTIS

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many fines were imposed by ICSTIS in each of the last five years; what the maximum fine imposed during each of the last five years was; and what the total value of fines imposed by ICSTIS has been to date.

Alun Michael: ICSTIS's current method of providing statistics on fines goes back to 2001. The table provides figures back to 2001.
	
		Fines issued
		
			   Number of fines Maximum fine imposed (£000) 
		
		
			 2001 142 100 
			 2002 214 75 
			 2003 211 75 
			 2004 155 100 
			 2005 145 100 
		
	
	The total value of fines imposed from 2001–05 was £9,456,800.00.

Invoicing

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the practice of naming individual company directors of small and medium sized businesses on invoices for the provision of goods and services to circumvent the protection of being a company limited by guarantee; and what powers companies have to require invoices to be directed to the company rather than individual directors.

Alun Michael: I have made no such assessment.
	Section 349 of the Companies Act 1985 provides that the company's name must appear on its invoices.
	Section 305 of the Companies Act 1985 provides that either all, or none, of the directors' names must appear on business letters where the company's name appears.
	Both of these provisions apply to both companies limited by shares and by guarantee.

Minimum Wage

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) England, (b) the South West, (c) Somerset and (d) Taunton constituency who are earning less than the minimum wage.

Gerry Sutcliffe: For England there are approximately 1 million employees earning under the national minimum wage, and for the south west approximately 110,000 (the data come from ASHE 2005)
	We are able to provide figures only for government regions and not constituencies.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value is of cost payments that have been refused for noise-induced hearing loss claims to his Department due to breaches of section 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 6 March 2006, Official Report, columns 1156–57W.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry what (a) average and (b) range of costs have been paid for miners' noise-induced hearing loss claims by his Department in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Wicks: Solicitors costs paid in miners' hearing loss claims since 1999 are as follows.
	
		
			  Solicitor payments made Total solicitors costs (£) Average (£) Min(1)(£) Max(2)(£) 
		
		
			 1999 499 394,329 790 85 15,198 
			 2000 4,082 2,875,714 704 17 26,203 
			 2001 8,534 6,152,368 721 11 9,382 
			 2002 5,261 3,880,791 738 20 11,500 
			 2003 3,371 2,773,995 823 3 8,000 
			 2004 3,197 3,684,052 1,152 12 17,537 
			 2005 4,132 4,884,638 1,182 17 10,020 
			 2006 1,052 1,321,832 1,256 11 6,465 
			 Total 30,128 25,967,721 862 — — 
		
	
	(1)The lowest costs are part-payments of expenses with remainder recovered separately.
	(2)The highest costs paid each year relate to claims pursued though litigation.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many claims to his Department by solicitors for miners' hearing loss an amount has been paid in costs for (a) work done by Melex Ltd., (b) fees to Vendside Ltd., (c) barristers' fees, (d) insurance premiums and (e) claimant loan interest costs.

Malcolm Wicks: There have been 10,376 noise induced hearing loss claims submitted by the UDM/Vendside since January 1997, for which costs have been paid to Vendside in 9,389 totalling £6.3 million.
	The remaining information is not readily available. Miners' hearing loss claims are not schemed so solicitors' costs for each claim are dealt with on their own merits. Concerns relating to particular aspects of the costs would be raised as part of the negotiations on the appropriate level of costs for any given claim.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many claims to his Department by solicitors for miners' hearing loss an amount has been paid in costs for a referral fee to Beresfords solicitors, where a solicitor other than Beresfords has submitted the claim.

Malcolm Wicks: This information is not readily available. Miners' hearing loss claims are not schemed so solicitors' costs for each claim are dealt with on their own merits. However, we would not generally pay such a referral fee.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average (a) settlement and (b) costs paid for miners' noise-induced hearing loss cases has been in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Wicks: Compensation and costs paid for miners' hearing loss claims since 1999 are set out in the table:
	
		£
		
			  Average damages Average solicitors costs 
		
		
			 1999 2,293 790 
			 2000 2,357 704 
			 2001 2,394 721 
			 2002 2,286 738 
			 2003 2,007 823 
			 2004 2,392 1,152 
			 2005 2,173 1,182 
			 2006 2,070 1,256

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in what percentage of noise-induced hearing loss cases disputed due to breaches of rule 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000, what percentage of cases included a disbursement payment to (a) Vendside, (b) Beresfords solicitors, (c) Melex Ltd., (d) Dr. Yeoh, (e) NIG, (f) Composite Legal Expenses and (g) Bank of Scotland.

Malcolm Wicks: This information is not readily available. Miners' hearing loss claims are not schemed so solicitors' costs for each claim are dealt with on their own merits. Concerns relating to a breach of regulation 4 of the conditional fee regulations would be raised as part of the negotiations on the appropriate level of costs for any given claim.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many costs payments are being negotiated for noise-induced hearing loss claims to his Department due to breach of section 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000; and how many involve Beresfords solicitors.

Malcolm Wicks: This information is not readily available. Miners' hearing loss claims are not schemed so solicitors' costs for each claim are dealt with on their own merits. Concerns relating to a breach of regulation 4 of the conditional fee regulations would be raised as part of the negotiations on the appropriate level of costs for any given claim.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many individual claimants have been informed by his Department that their case is being delayed due to negotiations over costs payments for noise-induced hearing loss to his Department due to breaches of section 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the answerI gave him on 6 March 2006, Official Report, columns 1153–54W.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many costs payments have been refused to solicitors for noise-induced hearing loss claims to his Department due to breach of section 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000 in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the answerI gave him on 6 March 2006, Official Report, columns 1156–57W.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss (Mining)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many costs payments have been refused to (a) Beresfords solicitors, (b) Bakewell solicitors, (c) Heptonstall solicitors, (d) Brown and Co. solicitors, (e) Ollerenshaw solicitors and (f) UDM/Vendside for noise-induced hearing loss claims to his Department due to breach of section 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the answerI gave him on 9 March 2006, Official Report, column 1731W.

Postal Services

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much post was (a) undelivered and (b) lost in each of the last five calendar years.

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Royal Mail plc. Adam Crozier, the chief executive, has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Postal Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to link increases in postal charges to the performance of Royal Mail; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Under the Postal Services Act (PSA 2000) the Government introduced a strong regulator, Postcomm, to monitor Royal Mail's performance against agreed quality of service targets and to manage postal charges under price controls, which are subject to public consultation.

Export Licences

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the export licences granted for the supply of (a) communication and (b) technical components to the United States for incorporation into Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles since 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: Information on the exporter, end-user and expected end-use of the exports in question is commercially confidential and as such is exempt from disclosure.
	The Government publish information on export licences granted by destination, including for transfers to the United States, in its Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls, available from the Libraries of the House. The Government also publish quarterly licensing and performance information on the Export Control Organisation website, www.dti.gov.uk/export.control. Relevant entries in these reports include components for unmanned air vehicles, components for military aero-engines, components for military aircraft communications equipment, components for military navigation equipment and components for military radar.

Export Licences

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the export licences for components for use in Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles granted to Radstone Technology plc. since 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: Information on the Government's individual export licensing decisions is commercially confidential and I am therefore neither able to confirm nor deny whether Radstone Technology plc has been granted any export licences for components for Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles since 2000.
	The Government publish information on export licences granted by destination, including for transfers to the United States, in its Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls, available from the Libraries of the House. The Government also publish quarterly licensing and performance information on the Export Control Organisation website, www.dti.gov.uk/export.control. Relevant entries in these reports include components for unmanned air vehicles, components for military aero-engines, components for military aircraft communications equipment, components for military navigation equipment and components for military radar.

Regional Selective Assistance

Eric Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it is his policy that (a) the use of best available techniques and (b) compliance with the integrated pollution prevention and control regime (i) is and (ii) should be a condition of the award of regional selective assistance for industrial developments.

Alun Michael: The use of best available techniques and compliance with the integrated pollution prevention and control regime (IPPC) is not a condition of the award of assistance for industrial developments, as industry should be meeting all relevant regulatory obligations including IPCC as a matter of course.
	From 1 April 2004 in England the Regional Selective Assistance scheme was re-launched as the Department of Trade and Industry's Selective Finance for Investment business support product. Support, which is discretionary, normally takes the form of a grant, which helps to fund new capital investment projects that lead to sustainable improvements in productivity, skills and employment. All applications are judged against specific product criteria, which include: need, eligibility, productivity, skills, job creation or safeguarding, viability, quality, national and regional benefit and additionality.

Sellafield

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much and what types of (a) additional hazardous waste and (b) spent nuclear fuel was discovered at Sellafield recently; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Work at the Sellafield plant continues in order to gain a full understanding of the nature and extent of hazardous waste on the site. Recent detailed examination of one particular part of the Sellafield complex, the B30 pond, has shown that the volume of sludge is approximately 1,200 cubic metres, which is around 20 per cent. higher than previously thought. There has been no discovery of additional spent nuclear fuel.
	A full inventory of the type and amount of nuclear waste in the UK is published by Nirex in conjunction with Defra and is available on their website.

Sunday Working

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received from trades unions on the level of pay to shop workers working on Sundays.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We have been asking for views on the impact of further relaxation of the restrictions on Sunday shopping. USDAW (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) and the GMB (Britain's General Union) have both responded with reference to the level of pay for shop workers on Sundays.
	USDAW and the GMB are intending to publish their responses to the DTI's review on their respective websites: www.usdaw.org.uk and www.gmb.org.uk In addition, their officials will be happy to be contacted directly to discuss their evidence.

Sunday Working

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the extent to which those who work on Sundays are paid extra; what trends in the level of payment his Department has identified; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In January, we appointed independent consultants, Indepen, to produce an economic cost-benefit analysis of the impact of further relaxation of the restrictions on Sunday shopping. As part of this analysis they are researching Sunday premium payments for retail workers. We will publish Indepen's economic cost-benefit analysis in due course.

Tidal Energy

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate the Department has made of the price per kilowatt hour of electricity produced from (a) tidal lagoon and (b) multi-pooled tidal lagoon schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: In common with other forms of energy generation the cost of energy from a tidal generating station will vary on a case-by-case basis.
	Between 1978 and 1994 the Government supported the most comprehensive programme of research and development on tidal energy in the world at an overall cost in excess of £20 million. These studies considered schemes at a number of potential sites, the largest being in the Severn Estuary. The results of the Severn study were reported in Energy Paper 57 HMSO 1989 (ISBN 011 412952 5). The unit cost of generation for the Severn scheme was estimated to be 7.5p/kWh at a discount rate of 8 per cent. (based upon 1994 prices).
	The most recent study of the Severn scheme carried out by the Severn Tidal Power Group (available at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/renewables/publications/Severnbarrage.shtml) estimated the unit cost of generation to be 6p/kWh (capital and operating cost).
	The DTI has previously commissioned an independent assessment of a proposed tidal (single) lagoon scheme in Swansea Bay. That assessment suggests the unit cost of generation to be around 16p/kWh at a discount rate of 8 per cent.

TRANSPORT

A3 Hindhead

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what cost-benefit analysis he has made of (a) delays to date and (b) possible future delays in implementing the A3 Hindhead improvement scheme;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of the impact on the environmentally sensitive areas of the (a) Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, (b) Devil's Punch Bowl Site of Special Scientific Interest and (c) environmentally sensitive areas of Hindhead Common if a decision to progress the A3 Hindhead improvement scheme were not made in spring 2006;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the number of accidents on the A3 if the A3 Hindhead improvement scheme were not to be progressed as soon as possible.

Stephen Ladyman: It would not be appropriate to comment on these issues while the inspector's report and recommendations remain under consideration following the public inquiry on the scheme.

A3 Hindhead

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received in support of making progress with the A3 Hindhead improvement scheme as soon as possible from constituents of North- East Hampshire constituency.

Stephen Ladyman: Over 50 representations have been received between 1 January and 14 April 2006 that have been overwhelmingly in favour of the scheme. We have not analysed which constituency the representations have been made from.

Biodiesel

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is (a) taking and (b) plans to take to promote the use of biodiesel; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government's main support for biodiesel has, since 2002, come in the form of a 20p per litre fuel duty incentive. This has been sufficient to stimulate sales of several million litres a month. We announced last year, however, that we will introduce from 2008 a renewable transport fuels obligation, which will require all suppliers of transport fuels in the UK to ensure that a certain percentage of their total annual sales is made up of biofuels (or, in the longer term, some other renewable transport fuel). The level of the obligation will rise from 2.5 per cent. in the financial year 2008–09 to 3.75 per cent. in 2009–10 and 5 per cent. in 2010–11. This should ensure that, by 2010, biodiesel sales in the UK will amount to over 1 billion litres a year—a 20-fold increase from where we are today.

Drink Driving (Lancashire)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many drink driving accidents there were in (a) Ribble Valley and (b) Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: Estimates of drink drive accidents in Great Britain as a whole are published each year in an article in Road Casualties Great Britain—Annual Report". Estimates below Government office region level are not available.

Drivers (Smoking Ban)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to ban smoking while driving.

Stephen Ladyman: There are no plans to introduce legislation to ban smoking while driving.
	Road traffic legislation already places responsibility on all drivers to have proper control of their vehicles. Any motorist who fails to do so, for whatever reason, such as smoking, or eating and drinking, is liable to prosecution.
	Rule 126 of the current edition of the Highway Code highlights the need to concentrate and avoid distractions while driving. The consultation paper published in February 2006 on the revision of the code proposes the addition of smoking" in the list of potential distractions to be avoided.

Driving Instructors (Sexual Assault)

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provisions exist for the (a) suspension and (b) banning of driving instructors (i) accused and (ii) convicted of sexual assault.

Stephen Ladyman: Part 5 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (as amended) requires professional car driving instructors to be registered.
	One of the conditions of registration is that the instructor is, and remains,
	a fit and proper person to have his name entered in the register".
	Failure to continue to meet, any of the conditions for registration can result in the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors taking action to remove the person's name from the register.
	There is no power for the registrar to suspend an instructor.

Mini Motorcycles

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce a system for regulating the driving of mini motorcycles by young people.

Stephen Ladyman: Appropriate legal requirements are already in place regarding the riding or driving or vehicles on the public highway. In addition to a range of powers under road traffic law—which includes seizure of offending vehicles under certain circumstances—the Police Reform Act 2002 enables the police to seize motor vehicles being used illegally and/or anti-socially, provided a warning has first been given. I have discussed enforcement issues with the Association of Chief Police Officers and have followed this up with a letter about the various powers available for use against offending mini motorcycles.
	As far as we are aware only one of a vast range of miniature motorcycles offered for sale claims to have European Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA). Unless a motorcycle—whether miniature or otherwise—has ECWVTA or has successfully passed through the Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) process, it may not be used on the public road. Any mini motorcycles which do have ECWVTA or MSVA must be registered, taxed and insured in order to use the road. The riders, whether young or old, must hold an appropriate licence and wear a suitable helmet.

National Parking Adjudication Service

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the National Parking Adjudication Service will have in place the appeals process relating to bus lane and tramway enforcement in England outside London; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The appeals service is for the local authorities to establish. I understand from the National Parking Adjudication Service that eight councils in England (outside London) hope to have completed all the necessary steps to commence bus lane enforcement this autumn which will include establishing the appeals service and appointing bus lane adjudicators, subject to the consent of the Lord Chancellor.

Railways (Lancashire)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money was spent on repairing railways in (a) Ribble Valley and (b) Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: These are operational matters for Network Rail (NR). I have asked NR to write directly to the hon. Member.

Road Fatalities (Richmond)

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of people killed in road accidents on roads maintained by Richmond upon Thames Local Authority from 1998 to the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of people killed in road accidents on roads maintained by Richmond upon Thames Local Authority from 1998 to 2004 (the last year for which data are available) is given in the table.
	
		Number of fatal casualties on roads maintained by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Local Authority: 1998 to 2004
		
			  Number of fatal casualties 
		
		
			 1998 4 
			 1999 3 
			 2000 2 
			 2001 2 
			 2002 5 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 4 
		
	
	Source:
	Transport For London

Search and Rescue

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) location and (b) composition is of each search and rescue team in the UK.

Stephen Ladyman: The organisation for Search and Rescue (SAR) in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an amalgam of separate Government Departments, the emergency services and other organisations. A significant number of charities and voluntary organisations dedicated to SAR also play a significant role. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has responsibility for civil maritime search and rescue in the UK which is undertaken by HM Coastguard. The Coastguard primarily makes use of rescue resources from the MOD (RAF and RN helicopters and aircraft) and lifeboats from the RNLI and other volunteer lifeboat providers. In addition, land based search and rescue is led by the police service. Their statistics are not collated centrally.
	The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) SAR service is divided into three coastguard regions—Eastern, Western and Scotland and Northern Ireland, which are further subdivided into nine areas. Each area has two Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres (MRCCs—a total of 19 in the UK). The areas are divided into a total of 64 Coastguard Sectors around the UK and within each sector there are a number of volunteer Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRTs). A table has been placed in the Libraries of the House showing the breakdown of teams and locations. The CRTs carry out coastal rescue operations (cliff and shoreline) and act as mobile lookouts when called out by their controlling MRCC to investigate reports of incidents, etc. In the UK there are 397 Coastguard Rescue Teams based around the UK coastline.
	In addition the MCA operates four SAR helicopter units at Sumburgh airport, Stornoway, Portland and Lee-on-Solent. There are two helicopters at each base except for Portland where there is only one aircraft. One helicopter at each base is kept on immediate readiness 24 hours per day except at Portland which is, in general, a daylight hours only service (circa 8 am–8 pm).
	
		MCA (HM Coastguard) coastguard rescue teams in UK
		
			 MCA (HM Coastguard) coastguard rescue teams Number 
		
		
			 Number of operational CRTs 397 
			 Authorised staff compliment 3,488 
			 Staff, in post 3,395 
		
	
	The details of the Ministry of Defence Search and Rescue and Mountain Rescue Teams are as follows.
	
		MOD search and rescue and mountain rescue teams
		
			 Location Composition 
		
		
			 Helicopter search and rescue  
			 Leconfield Barracks, Beverley, Yorkshire 2 Sea King helicopters 
			  53 service personnel 
			  1 MOD civilian 
			 RAF Boulmer, Alnwick, Northumberland 2 Sea King helicopters 
			  62 service personnel 
			  1 MOD civilian 
			 RAF Lossiemouth, Elgin, Moray 2 Sea King helicopters 
			  54 service personnel 
			  1 MOD civilian 
			 RAF Valley, Holyhead, Anglesey 2 Sea King helicopters 
			  54 service personnel 
			  1 MOD civilian 
			 Royal Marine Base Chivenor, Barnstable,  Devon 2 Sea King helicopters 
			  62 service personnel 
			  1 MOD civilian 
			 Wattisham Barracks, Ipswich, Suffolk 2 Sea King helicopters 
			  53 service personnel 
			  1 MOD civilian 
			 Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, Helston,  Cornwall 2 Sea King helicopters 
			  10 service personnel(3) 
			 HMS Gannet, Prestwick Airport, Scotland 2 Sea King helicopters 
			  79 service personnel 
			  31 MOD civilians 
			 RAF Kinloss, Moray(4) 19 service personnel 
			  10 MOD civilians 
			   
			 Mountain rescue teams  
			 RAF Valley, Holyhead, Anglesey, 8 service personnel 
			  28 part-time MOD volunteers 
			 RAF Leeming, Northallerton, Yorkshire 8 service personnel 
			  28 part-time MOD volunteers 
			 RAF Leuchars, St. Andrews Fife 8 military personnel 
			  28 part-time MOD volunteers 
			 RAF Kinloss, Forres, Moray 8 military personnel 
			  28 part-time MOD volunteers 
		
	
	(3)This figure indicates the service personnel required to fulfil the mandated search and rescue tasks, which comes, under the remit of 771 Squadron. Additional military and civilian staff fulfil support duties to the whole squadron including search and rescue.
	(4)The aeronautical rescue co-ordination centre located at RAF Kinloss is responsible for co-ordinating all SAR helicopter operations in the UK.
	Note:
	MOD contractors are not included in these figures.

Search and Rescue

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many search and rescue operations were carried out in each of the last five years (a) in the UK and (b) by each search and rescue base.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows the number of times that Maritime and Coastguard Agency, through their Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres, launched rescue missions in the UK in each of the last five years. The responsibility for the co-ordination of land-based and inland waters search and rescue rests with the police service and statistics for these operations are not collated centrally.
	
		
			 Location 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total 
		
		
			 Aberdeen 219 228 219 422 450 1,538 
			 Belfast 193 226 208 221 219 1,067 
			 Brixham 563 565 697 705 723 3,253 
			 Clyde 462 495 484 530 475 2,446 
			 Dover 389 347 315 348 374 1,773 
			 Falmouth 349 335 339 289 237 1,549 
			 Forth 203 197 203 63 117 783 
			 Holyhead 359 319 441 394 192 1,705 
			 Humber 414 644 605 451 485 2,599 
			 London 394 390 464 415 218 1,881 
			 Liverpool 310 322 419 504 489 2,044 
			 Milford Haven 622 600 367 330 374 2,293 
			 Portland 230 252 640 283 709 2,114 
			 Shetland 892 766 213 225 150 2,246 
			 Solent 281 238 884 1,036 948 3,387 
			 Stornoway 502 501 228 241 224 1,696 
			 Swansea 430 951 484 638 283 2,786 
			 Thames 266 433 488 661 376 2,224 
			 Yarmouth 317 228 372 300 209 1,426 
			 Totals 7,395 8,037 8,070 8,056 7,252 —

Seatbelts

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to increase the seatbelt wearing rate to 97 per cent. over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Seatbelt messages have been included in the Department's road safety campaign for over 35 years. Having achieved very high wearing rates by good publicity and appropriate enforcement, the Department now believes it needs to be more targeted in reaching those who are most resistant to its messages. Seatbelt messages, along with other THINK! road safety issues, will in future be promoted through engagement strategies, currently under development, which will target young drivers and those who drive for work.
	Enforcement of the law will remain a matter for the police who issued some 201,000 fixed penalty notices in England and Wales during 2004 for seat belt wearing offences.

Seatbelts

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what support he has (a) given and (b) plans to give to seatbelt sheriff campaigns; if he will make it his policy to support such campaigns; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has received no requests to support such campaigns. The Department does not directly support local campaigns but local authorities can fund these from their own resources. The Department runs paid publicity campaigns at a national level—radio, TV and posters—which local stakeholders can build upon if they wish. The Department also produces an extensive range of free promotional materials on road safety for use on a local level.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness in (a) Southend-on-Sea and (b) Essex of (i) fixed speed cameras and (ii) mobile speed cameras; what criteria he uses to assess effectiveness; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The independent four-year evaluation report of the national safety camera programme, which is available in the Libraries of the House and on the DfT website, included an assessment of the effectiveness of both fixed and mobile cameras at the Essex Safety Camera Partnership level using the criteria of reductions in speed and casualties at camera sites.
	The evaluation concluded that both types of camera were effective in both respects. Fixed cameras had, on the whole, a greater effect in reducing speeding than mobile cameras, reflecting the fact that fixed cameras affect driving behaviour all the time, whereas mobile cameras operate periodically at each location.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has issued on the minimum number of persons that must have been killed or seriously injured at a given site before (a) a fixed speed camera and (b) a mobile speed camera is installed; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The casualty criteria that must be met before a fixed or mobile speed camera is installed are set out in the Handbook of Rules and Guidance for the National Safety Camera Programme for England and Wales for 2006–07, which is available in the Library of the House, and on the Department's website. For fixed camera sites it is at least three killed or seriously injured collisions per site kilometre in the 36 months that forms the baseline period. For mobile camera sites it is at least one killed or seriously injured collision per site kilometre in the baseline period.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has undertaken into the effects of speed cameras on drink driving levels; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Speed cameras are neither designed nor intended to detect those who drink and drive. The Department has not therefore undertaken any research into the effects of speed cameras on drink driving.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has issued on the speed at which a speed camera is triggered; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has not issued guidance on this matter. The guidelines issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers recommends motorists are not prosecuted unless they are recorded as going at 10 per cent. plus 2 mph over the posted speed limit.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much and what percentage of fines in (a) Southend-on-Sea and (b) Essex for a contravention of Section 89 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, went to (i) HM Treasury and (ii) each local speed camera partnership in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Stephen Ladyman: The Essex Safety Camera Partnership covers Essex county council, Southend-on-Sea borough council and Thurrock borough council. The following table shows the fine revenue, partnership expenditure and the resulting surplus which was passed to the HMT Consolidated Fund.
	
		
			  Fine revenue (£) Partnership expenditure (£) Surplus (£) Surplus (percentage) 
		
		
			 2002–03 5,672,220 5,150,286 521,934 9.2 
			 2003–04 5,137,740 5,037,293 100,447 2.0 
			 2004–05 4,710,300 4,622,413 87,887 1.9 
		
	
	This information relates only to activity undertaken by the Essex Safety Camera Partnership as part of the safety camera programme. More detailed information on their finances (including individual partners') is available on the Essex Partnership website at: www.essexsafetycameras.co.uk

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact on road safety of speed cameras in (a) Southend-on-Sea and (b) Essex between 1994 and 2006; what (i) long-term trends and (ii) seasonal variations have been recorded; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The following independent evaluations of the National Safety Camera Programme undertaken for the Department include an assessment of the Essex Safety Camera Partnership area, and are available in the Library of the House, and on the Department's website:
	A cost recovery system for speed and red-light cameras—two year pilot evaluation (11 February 2003);
	The national safety camera programme—Three year evaluation report (15 June 2004);
	The national safety camera programme—Four year evaluation report (15 December 2005).
	Long-term trends and seasonal variations are recorded only at the national level.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of speed cameras on roads in (a) Southend, (b) Essex and (c) England; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The independent four-year evaluation report of the National Safety Camera Programme assessed the effectiveness of cameras at both the national programme and safety camera partnership level. The report, published on 15 December 2005, is available in the Library of the House, and on the Department's website.

Speed Cameras

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the road accident statistics which are used to decide on the positioning of mobile speed cameras in Warwickshire were last updated.

Stephen Ladyman: The casualty criteria that must be met before a fixed or mobile speed camera is installed are set out in the Handbook of Rules and Guidance for the National Safety Camera Programme for England and Wales for 2006/07" a copy of which is in the Library of the House. For mobile camera sites it is at least one killed or seriously injured collision per site kilometre in the baseline period. The baseline period is a 36-month period, the start date of which must be consistent with the start of a programme quarter and the end date must be within 12 months of the date of operational case submission.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of fixed speed cameras located on roads in (a) Southend-on-Sea and (b) Essex had a (i) 30 mph and (ii) 40 mph speed limit in each year between 1990 and 2006.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department holds information only at a partnership level although further site by district detail will be available from the Essex Safety Camera Partnership at www.essexsafetycameras.co.uk. The number and percentage of fixed speed cameras on roads with a 30mph or 40mph speed limit in Essex is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number Percentage 
			 Date established 30 mph 40 mph 30 mph 40 mph 
		
		
			 1993 3 1 75 25 
			 1995 9 1 90 10 
			 1996 17 1 94 6 
			 1998 19 1 95 5 
			 1999 25 1 96 4 
			 2001 45 6 87 12 
			 2002 48 8 84 14 
			 2003 54 17 75 24 
			 2004 58 20 73 25 
			 2005 58 21 73 26 
		
	
	Note:
	Numbers are cumulative

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was of installing a speed camera in Southend-on-Sea in the last period for which figures are available; and what the figures were in each year since 2000.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not hold detailed cost information in relation to installing speed cameras as every site is different, equipment types vary and local conditions need to be taken into account. As a general guide, the following budgetary figure can be used:
	Capital cost of providing a fixed housing, including power supply, signage and providing a camera (to go in housing) £40,000.
	Detailed costs for specific sites may be available from the Essex Safety Camera Partnership who can be contacted via their website at www.essexsafetycameras.co.uk.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications in (a) Southend-on-Sea and (b) Essex for speed camera sites have been made on which a final decision on whether installation will be allowed remains pending; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department holds information only at a partnership level. As part of its operational case for 2006–07, the Essex. Safety Camera Partnership submitted proposals for five fixed and 21 mobile speed camera sites. As all these sites were compliant with the published site selection rules, all have been approved. There are no applications for new speed camera sites in Essex where a decision on approval remains pending.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many proposals for speed cameras in (a) Southend-on-Sea and (b) Essex have been (i)approved and (ii) rejected by his Department in each year since 1997; and what the proposed location was in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department holds information only at a partnership level and requires all core sites within the safety camera programme to meet the published site selection criteria. Non-compliant sites are not submitted for approval as part of the programme so the Department has not rejected any proposals for speed cameras in Essex.
	The exact location of the sites approved by the Department is available from the Essex Safety Camera Partnership. The number of sites submitted as part of their operational cases, and approved by the Department since they joined the safety camera programme in April 2000 is shown in the table:
	
		
			 Operational Case Date Fixed Number approved Mobile Number approved Total 
		
		
			 2000–01 59 150 209 
			 2003–04 21 38 59 
			 2004–05 1 21 22 
			 2006–07 5 21 26 
			 Total 86 230 316 
		
	
	Note:
	Essex SCP joined the safety camera programme as a 'pilot' partnership in April 2000.
	All existing camera sites that existed at that time were brought into the programme.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with Essex police about changing the number of (a) fixed and (b) mobile speed cameras in (i) Southend and (ii) Essex; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department would not expect to have discussions with Essex police about changing the number of speed camera sites in Essex because sites are selected locally as the right solution to a particular problem.
	The Department did work with the Essex Safety Camera Partnership to develop its 2006–07 operational case and this was approved on 30 March 2006.
	The Department's Handbook of Rules and Guidance for the National Safety Camera Programme for England and Wales for 2006–07" a copy of which is in the Library of the House requires safety camera partnerships to keep existing camera sites under review. Any further new cameras will only be approved as core sites within the safety camera programme if they meet the published site selection criteria set out in the handbook.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the types of (a) fixed and (b) mobile speed cameras used in (i) Southend, (ii) the Metropolitan police area and (iii)Essex.

Stephen Ladyman: Partnerships are not required to provide the Department with information about the types of cameras they use. All safety cameras must however be of a type approved by the Home Office.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department is undertaking into accidents around speed camera sites in (a) Southend, (b) Essex and (c) England; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The independent four-year report into the National Safety Camera Programme, published in December 2005, which is available in the Libraries of theHouse and the Department's website, showed a significant reduction in deaths and serious injuries at camera sites.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he (a) has made and (b) plans to make of the potential for temporary blinding of drivers driving at night by (i) forward facing and (ii) rear facing speed camera flashes; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has not assessed the effect of camera flashes at night and have no plans to do so. No forward or rear-facing camera is type approved until it has undergone rigorous testing against set specifications that ensures its reliability and safety. The peak intensity and duration of the flash are less than levels which are encountered from other sources when driving at night.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether further speed cameras are planned for each side of the (a) A127 and (b) A13 between the M25 and Southend; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department is not currently aware of any further speed cameras planned for these roads. Any further speed cameras in the future will be proposed by the Essex Safety Camera Partnership and will only be approved as core sites within the safety camera programme if they meet the published site selection criteria.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether mobile speed cameras are planned for each side of the (a) A127 and (b) A13 between the M25 and Southend; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department is not currently aware of any new planned mobile speed cameras for these roads. Any planned mobile speed cameras in the future will be proposed by the Essex Safety Camera Partnership and will only be approved as core sites within the safety camera programme if they meet the published site selection criteria.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the installation of speed cameras in Essex.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has not received any representations on the installation of speed cameras in Essex.

Speed Humps

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from the emergency services about the removal of (a) speed humps and (b) pinch points on the road network in (i) Southend-on-Sea, (ii) Essex, (iii) the Metropolitan Police area of London and (iv) England; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has not received any representations from the emergency services about the removal of speed humps and pinch points on any roads in England.
	London Ambulance Service did contact the Department in October 2001 with concerns that traffic calming may have a detrimental effect on ambulance response times. A regular dialogue has been maintained since this time to establish the nature of the concerns and to assist with possible solutions.

Transport Subsidies

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 23 March 2006, Official Report, column 496W, how much of the total bus subsidy in London is from his Department in addition to the bus subsidy operators grant.

Stephen Ladyman: In addition to funding for buses in theform of subsidy given in my answer of 23 March, the following awards were made to bus projects in the capital:
	Hammersmith Urban Bus Challenge, in 2001, at £425,000.
	Service improvements and expansion programme in Tower Hamlets, in 2003, at £527,208.
	Brent Urban Bus Challenge, in 2003, at £440,000.
	Camden and Islington PlusBus, in 2004, at £1,021,465.
	Thames Gateway zero-emission electric bus project, in 2005, at £394,000.

Vehicle Excise and Registration Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the operation of section (a) 22A and (b) 27A of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994.

Stephen Ladyman: Section 22A relates to the Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) scheme. The scheme helps to combat the crime of vehicle ringing by verifying that written off vehicles conform to the registered particulars on the DVLA database before being registered and put back on the road.
	A recent review of the scheme's effectiveness has shown that car thefts decreased by 24 per cent. in thefirst two years since the scheme's introduction. Although this can be attributed to a number of crime reduction measures, it is reasonable to conclude that VIC has been a contributing factor to this decrease. The review of the scheme will be published shortly.
	Section 27A is not yet in force but its purpose is to introduce regulation making powers to prescribe security features in number plates making them less susceptible to theft or cloning. DVLA is currently considering which security features might be put in place.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Correspondence

John Whittingdale: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality when she expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford of 20 December 2005 on behalf of Ms Michelle Langton of Galleywood, Chelmsford.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to PQ No. 63771 answered today.

DEFENCE

A400M Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other countries on the merits of fitting a fuel tank inerting system to the A400M aircraft.

Adam Ingram: The A400M does not come fitted with a fuel inerting system, although a portable removable on board inert gas generation system is available as an option. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has not discussed the fitting of a fuel tank inerting system to the A400M with his counterparts in other countries. Officials have discussed the merits of fitting such a system with counterparts in other countries. The UK will make a decision in due course on whether to fit the system to our A400M aircraft.

Air and Sea Rescue

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of air and sea rescue operations capability.

Adam Ingram: A 24 hour military and civil Search and Rescue (SAR) service around the UK is presently provided by RAF, Royal Navy and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) helicopters. This is planned to remain in service until the middle of the next decade.
	As set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS), MOD and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are jointly assessing options for provision of a replacement SAR service when the existing helicopters are taken out of service. An announcement setting out further details on the way ahead will be made in due course.
	We intend to deliver a service that is at least as effective as the current one, in a manner that provides value for money to the taxpayer. Tasking of the service will continue to be managed jointly by the MOD and MCA. The DIS also makes it clear that we will retain a proportion of military aircrew.

Air Incident (Ballykelly)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has implemented additional safety precautions as a result of the landing at Ballykelly Army Base of a scheduled aircraft bound for Londonderry Airport on Wednesday 29 March.

Adam Ingram: The Civil Aviation Authority are currently conducting an inquiry into the circumstances of this incident. We will consider any recommendations that may emerge from this inquiry as soon as they are available.

Cadet Corps (Rifles)

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what minimum number of rifles (a) in total and (b) per 100 cadets is required by army cadet organisations to maintain training standards.

Don Touhig: The number of General Purpose Rifles currently required to maintain minimum standards is 7,746, which equates to 17 rifles per 100 cadets at current strength. The number of Drill Purpose Rifles currently required to maintain minimum standards is 5,130 which equates to 11 rifles per 100 cadets at current strength.

Defence Export Services Organisation

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual budget has been for the Defence Export Services Organisation in each of the last 10 years.

Adam Ingram: Operating costs which are available for the last eight financial years are given as follows. Forecast costs are given for financial year 2005–06.
	
		£ million
		
			 Financial year Expenditure Receipts Net operating costs 
		
		
			 1998–99 45.359 -29.342 16.017 
			 1999–2000 46.473 -34.977 11.496 
			 2000–01 55.81 -41.430 14.380 
			 2001–02 48.930 -37.853 11.077 
			 2002–03 56.944 -44.407 11.944 
			 2003–04 58.348 -42.203 16.145 
			 2004–05 59.960 -43.038 16.922 
			 2005–06 51.6 -38.0 13.6 
		
	
	The net operating costs include credits to the defence budget arising from a range of activities of the Defence Export Services Organisation, including those of the Disposal Services Agency until it was transferred to the Defence Logistics Organisation on 1 April 2005.

Defence Export Services Organisation

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the ramifications for military stability in the middle east region of increased arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia facilitated by the Defence Export Services Organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) implements Government policy in respect of supporting legitimate defence exports by industry to a range of countries, including Israel and Saudi Arabia. Export licensing policy requires the Government to take into account concerns that proposed defence exports might be used for internal repression or international aggression, risks to regional stability, or other considerations.
	Currently, less than 1 per cent. of (DESO) staff are engaged in export-related business to Israel and around 40 per cent. to Saudi Arabia. The latter figure includes staff in the Saudi Project Office who undertake a range of tasks principally associated with the performance of existing contracts.

Defence Intelligence and Security Centre

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which countries short-term training teams were deployed by the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre in 2004–05.

Adam Ingram: In 2004–05, short term training teams were deployed from the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre to Iraq, Slovenia and Malaysia.

Depleted Uranium

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will publish the findings of the Depleted Uranium Oversight Board.

Don Touhig: The Depleted Uranium Oversight Board is an independent committee that reports to me. Its proceedings, including interim summaries of the resultsof the retrospective depleted uranium testing programme, are published on its website (www.duob.org.uk). I understand that the board expects to submit a final report on its work toward the end of 2006.
	I understand that, to date, no depleted uranium has been detected in any of the veterans' urine samples monitored under this programme.

Depleted Uranium

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the effect of depleted uranium shells on soldiers; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: The Ministry of Defence routinely monitors emerging information on the potential health effects of exposure to depleted uranium (DU) and has studied the authoritative assessments by the Royal Society and others. All the reliable scientific and medical evidence shows that the likelihood of ill health as a result of battlefield exposure to DU is extremely low. Nonetheless, urine testing has been made available to current and former personnel concerned about possible exposure. To date, with the exception of a small number of personnel who suffered shrapnel injuries in a friendly fire" incident involving DU munitions, none of those tested has been found to be excreting DU.

Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when each of the prisons run by the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre ceased to operate; and what took the place of each;
	(2)  which organisation took over the functions previously carried out by the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre.

Adam Ingram: The research required to locate surviving source material which may provide the information requested will take some time. I will write to the hon. Member when this work is complete.

Far East Prisoners of War

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the camps in which civilians and military personnel must have been interned to be eligible for the Far East Prisoner Of War ex-gratia payment; and what criteria were used to determine the qualifying camps.

Don Touhig: holding answer 30 March 2006
	To be eligible under the military part of the ex-gratia scheme, a claimant must have been a member of the UK armed forces and have been captured and detained by the Japanese. An individual's service record and capture cards" provided by the Japanese have normally contained sufficient contemporary evidence to establish Prisoner of War status without the need to prove detention in any particular camp. Lists of qualifying camps have not therefore been necessary to prove eligibility for military claimants.
	To be eligible under the civilian part of the scheme, a claimant must have been detained within a specifically designated area, under the direct control of the Japanese. Civilian personnel who were held in the camps listed as follows and who met the other criteria for the scheme have received a payment. These camps have been verified as meeting the agreed internment definition through information obtained from a number of sources which include the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Imperial War Museum, the National Archives and ABCIFER. The list includes the main internment camps but is not exhaustive. Claims from former civilian internees who were held captive in other camps would be considered in accordance with the aforementioned internment definition. A small number of claims have been paid to civilians who were not detained at locations directly under the control of the Japanese. These payments were made in error, largely in the initial phase of the scheme. This happened either because eligibility decisions were based on lists of those who had benefited individually or as a family member under the 1950s compensation scheme based on liquidated Japanese assets where the family member may not themselves have been interned, or because the status of some locations had not been fully established.
	Qualifying civilian internment camps include the following:
	Ash Camp
	Baguio
	Batavia Area
	Burma (Camp had a number of names over the period)
	Changi
	Chapei
	Columbia Country Club
	Djambi
	Great Western Road
	Haiphong Road
	Kuching
	Lincoln Avenue
	Lintang
	Los Banos
	Muntok (Banka Island)
	Lunghwa
	Padang
	Palembang
	Pootung
	Santo Tomas
	Sarawak
	Shanghai (Camp Chit Chat)
	Sibul Springs
	Sime Road
	Stanley Camp
	Sumatra (A number of camps with changing names)
	Tanahtinggi
	Tangerang
	Tha Phrachandr (also known as Tha Prachand)
	Weihsien
	Yangchow
	Yu Yuen Road

Information Requests

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests for Internal Reviews of Requests for Information he has received in each of the last three years; and how many were completed within 40 working days of receipt of the application.

Don Touhig: Since the full implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on 1 January 2005, the Ministry of Defence has received 126 requests for internal reviews of responses to requests for information or of the handling of requests. 108 reviews have been completed, of which 64 were completed within 40 working days of receipt of the application.

Joint Strike Fighter

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Joint Strike Fighter project is subject to the US Arms Export Control Act; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Yes. Military aircraft appear on the US Munitions List, so the Joint Strike Fighter project is subject to the US Arms Export Control Act.

Pilots

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many qualified pilots in the Royal Air Force are posted to (a) a flying post on a squadron and (b) a non-flying post.

Don Touhig: The number of trained pilots in the Royal Air Force as at 1 March 2006 by flying/non-flying post is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Trained strength 
		
		
			 Flying Post 1,520 
			 Non-Flying Post 600 
			 Total 2,120 
		
	
	Note:
	All figures have been rounded to the nearest ten.

Private Tesoni Vakacakaudrove

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the Board of Inquiry into the death of Private Tesoni Vakacakaudrove at Leconfield barracks on 6 October 2002 (a) opened and (b) closed; for how many hours the Board sat; and what measures were taken as a result of its recommendations.

Don Touhig: The Board of Inquiry to investigate the circumstances of the death of Private Tesoni Vakacakaudrove convened on 6 January 2004 and closed on 14 January 2004. The Board comprised three members but there is no record of the number of hours that the Board sat. The recommendations made by the BOI were addressed as follows:
	Initial Reporting of Incidents
	Direction on the Initial Reporting of such incidents has been reviewed and clearly defined in Defence School of Transport (DST) Standing Orders. Clear guidance is also provided in each accommodation block.
	Immediate Action Drills
	Immediate Action Drills Flow Charts have been placed in each accommodation block.
	Phones
	Duty of Care staff are now equipped with both phone and mobile communications which could be relied upon in an emergency.
	Health and Safety (H and S)
	The DST H and S Policy and Standing Orders have been updated.
	Standing Orders
	DST Standing Orders have been rewritten.
	Bar Orders
	Orders for the NAAFI and NAAFI Bar Staff, and for NAAFI points of alcohol sale have been incorporated into Standing Orders, and displayed in all NAAFI run bars and points of sale.
	Welfare
	Welfare facilities and processes are clearly identified by the unit. Welfare assistance is provided by empowered officers, unit welfare officer, on site WRVS and Army Welfare Services and a Padre. Driver Training Wing (where all phase 2 students receive instruction) now has an established Student Focus Office headed by a captain. Clear direction on the use of these welfare agencies and facilities are included in induction briefings and advertised in Orders.
	Health Education Posters
	General alcohol education posters are displayed around the unit in accommodation, training blocks and recreational facilities and interspersed with drink driving posters.
	Responsibility for Phase 2 Students
	A continuous system of individual reporting from phase 1 to phase 2 training, and onward to the Field Army, now exists.
	Cultural Awareness
	The formalisation of UK and Foreign and Commonwealth (F and C) service personnel and F and C families cultural induction and orientation is being co-ordinated. The following are being drafted: a short guide to all F and C culture and traditions; F and C diversity management training for UK service personnel for incorporation into appropriate individual training courses; a unit welfare officer's induction package for Fand C families.
	Military Ethos
	Following the recommendations made in the duty of care appraisal of initial training the military supervisory manpower at DST has been increased. This will help promote military ethos.
	Boards of Inquiry
	Since 1 June 2004, Boards of Inquiry are required to convene within 48 hours of an incident.
	Replacement of staff
	This recommendation was considered by HQ Land to be outside the immediate purview of the BOI.

Queen's Flight

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of overnight accommodation for the crew of a BAe146 of The Queen's Flight at Sharm el Sheikh in December 2004; for how many crew and for how many nights such accommodation was required; and which Department met the cost.

John Reid: Ministerial use of 32 (TR) Squadron is charged at an hourly rate calculated on an annual basis. This hourly rate includes a component covering aircrew accommodation, which is not recovered separately. The overall costs of the trip were included in the annual list of Cabinet Ministers' visits overseas for 2004–05 published in July 2005, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The Prime Minister's Office met the costs. Five crew members remained at Sharm el Sheikh for eight nights.

Royal Irish Regiment

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the projected numbers of the bands of the Royal Irish Regiment are over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the future of military music in Northern Ireland.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 April 2006
	Pursuant to my written ministerial statement on 9 March 2006, Official Report, column 69WS, the band of the Royal Irish Regiment will be disbanded by 1 April 2008. We will continue to provide military music in Northern Ireland via the Northern Ireland Territorial Army Band which will be renamed The Royal Irish Regiment Band (TA).

Royal Ordnance Chorley

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what role the Minister of State for Defence (a) has played and (b) is playing in deciding the future of Royal Ordnance Chorley;
	(2)  what role each Minister in his Department has played in the run down of (a) Royal Ordnance Chorley and (b) Royal Ordnance Bridgwater.

Adam Ingram: Defence Ministers have played no direct role in decisions taken by BAES Land Systems concerning the future of their sites at Chorley and Bridgwater.
	Minister for Defence Procurement did, however, endorse the signing of the Partnering Principles between MOD and BAES (LS) in October, which informed the company of MOD's long term capability requirement as set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy.

Submarines

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times Royal Navy submarines have docked at Southampton in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: No Royal Navy submarines have docked at Southampton in the last five years.

Submarines

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of upgrading and extending the life-cycle of Vanguard class submarines to accommodate Trident II D5 (A) missiles.

John Reid: Initial preparatory work is being undertaken by officials on possible options for the future of the UK's nuclear deterrent. However, Ministers have not yet begun to consider the position on this issue in any detail and it would be inappropriate to speculate on the range of options that might be available and their potential costs.
	The term Trident II D5 (A) is not recognised by either the Ministry of Defence or the US Department of Defence as a current variant of the Trident D5 missiles.

Trident Replacement

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his strategy is for ensuring the fullest possible debate on the replacement for Trident; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave previously to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander) on 7 December 2005, Official Report, column 1352–53.
	Since then, the House of Commons Defence Committee has published a detailed memorandum, which was provided by my Department, and the issue has been raised on other occasions in the House of Commons. But Ministers have not yet engaged in this issue in any detail and it therefore remains the case that it is too early to say what further formal or informal procedures might be used to underpin future decision making by the Government in this area.

CABINET OFFICE

Delivery Unit

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what Government (a) top delivery and reform priorities and (b) targets the Delivery Unit is focusing.

Jim Murphy: The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit (PMDU) is focusing on providing support to civil service departments on aspects of delivery of:
	health system reform;
	education system reform; and
	police reform,
	as well as leading a programme of departmental reviews designed to improve departments' performance in pursuing their current missions and tackling future challenges.
	The PMDU is also focusing on monitoring and providing challenge and support to the following public service agreement (PSA) targets arising from SR04. These include:
	Department of Health
	Increasing the participation of problem drug users in drug treatment
	Improving health outcomes for people with long term conditions
	Ensuring maximum 18 weeks waiting time between GP referral and hospital treatment
	Department for Education and Skills
	Young people reaching 19 ready for skilled employment or higher education
	Reducing the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training
	GCSE attainment at age 16
	Attainment at key stages 2 and 3
	Reducing drug use in young people
	Reducing school absence
	Home Office
	Improving the delivery of justice
	Reassuring the public about crime and the criminal justice system
	Ensuring an effective asylum process
	Reducing crime
	Reducing the harms caused by illegal drugs
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
	Delivering a faster and more efficient planning system.
	The unit also monitors a number of targets from the previous spending review including:
	reducing criminal reoffending;
	inpatient and outpatient maximum waiting times; and
	provision of patient choice in the NHS.
	All PSA targets are monitored either by HMT or PMDU. PMDU regularly reviews its contribution to target areas in conjunction with HMT and No. 10, and would normally continue to be involved in workstreams until the target was met or where it could be confident that the target was on target to be met.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Burma

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has made to the military government of Burma on behalf of political prisoners (a) U Saw Naing Naing and (b) U Soe Han, who are incarcerated in that country.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK and EU have repeatedly called for the release of all political prisoners in Burma. Our Embassy in Rangoon monitors the general human rights situation in Burma, including the arrest and detention of political prisoners. We have not made any specific representations on behalf of U Saw Naing Naing or USoe Han.

Community Service Orders

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders who have been handed community service orders by the court have subsequently failed the conditions of their order in each of the past 10 years for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: Community service orders were renamed community punishment orders from April 2001. They also formed one element of the combination order, renamed community punishment and rehabilitation order from the same date. For offences committed since 4 April 2005, unpaid work has been imposed as a community order with an unpaid work requirement.
	The readily available information (covering the years 1994 and 1999 to 2004) is published in Table 4.13 of 'Sentencing Statistics 2004, England and Wales' (Home Office Statistical Bulletin No 15/05), a copy of which is in the Library.

Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 2 December 2005 from the hon. Member for Brent, East regarding Dr. Mohammed Salah Nabi.

Tony McNulty: I wrote to the hon. Member on 19 April 2006.

DNA Database

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to assess the deterrent effect of the DNA database on crime; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: It is not currently possible to quantify specific deterrent effects to any single given component of the investigative and prosecutorial processes. The Government have been, and is continuing to, evaluate the impact of increased use of DNA by the police, database growth and the impact on the investigation and detection of crime. The Home Office published a summary of what has been achieved through the Government's DNA Expansion Programme 2000–05 on 4 January 2006.

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his statement of 18 January 2006, Official Report, column 833, what the evidential basis was for the assertion that the London School of Economics Report was written by the leading campaigner against identity cards.

Andy Burnham: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minster stated that he thought he was right in saying that the Identity Project Report, published by the London School of Economics' Department of Information Systems, had been written by a leading campaigner against identity cards. This is a reasonable conclusion given the close correlation between the contents of the report and the publicly expressed opinions of the individual who acted as project mentor/co-ordinator and of the organisation he is a director of.

Illegal Immigrants

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employers in West Lancashire constituency have been prosecuted for employing illegal immigrants in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that there have been no prosecutions in Lancashire for employing illegal immigrants between 1997 and the latest date for which published data is available—2004

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of the immigration and nationality directorate are based in (a) Scotland, (b) each of the English regions, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) overseas, broken down by office location; and what the remit is of each office.

Tony McNulty: The total number of staff employed and based in the UK is shown in table 1 and a breakdown of IND in English regions is presented in table 2.
	A table indicating the numbers of staff based overseas is provided in annex A.
	There are approximately 134 buildings, at least partially occupied, by the immigration and nationality directorate, within the UK. Some operational staff will also be based in police stations periodically as working practices indicate that co-located intelligence gathering is beneficial to both the immigration and police services.
	Due to the large number of offices, and in some instances for security reasons, it is also not feasible to list the remit of each office. I can state that the larger estates such as Croydon and Liverpool, undertake functions that cut across several areas. These include operational programmes; casework—both general and asylum; appeals work; human resources, finance and IT support functions and building services. The smaller locations tend to undertake operational programmes but are supported by regional corporate services as appropriate.
	
		Table 1
		
			 Full time equivalent: Permanent Non-permanent 
		
		
			 England 14,537 2,534 
			 Scotland 256 10 
			 Wales 83 6 
			 Northern Ireland 5 1 
		
	
	
		Table 2
		
			 Region Total 
		
		
			 Croydon* (CR) Greater London 6,532 
			 Heathrow (HT) 1,856 
			 Gatwick (GT) 497 
			 London (LN) 1,484 
			 East (ES) 364 
			 SE 1,443 
			 SW 71 
			 Liverpool (LV) 1,298 
			 Midlands (MD) 422 
			 NW 633 
			 NE 2,021 
			 West (WS) 78 
			 Sh Exec Brew GFL 84 
			 Dover (DV) 69 
			 Other 219 
			 Total 17,071 
		
	
	
		Annex A
		
			 Country Total Officers 
		
		
			 Abu Dhabi 2 
			 Accra 16 
			 Abuja 7 
			 Algiers 1 
			 Amsterdam 4 
			 Amman 2 
			 Ankara 4 
			 Athens 0 
			 Bahrain 1 
			 Bangkok 3 
			 Banjul 2 
			 Beijing 9 
			 Belgrade 2 
			 Bogota 2 
			 Bratislavia 0 
			 Brussels 28 
			 Bucharest 3 
			 Budapest 2 
			 Cairo 3 
			 Casablanca 0 
			 Chennai 5 
			 Chicago 1 
			 Chongqing 2 
			 Colombo 4 
			 Copenhagen 2 
			 Dar Es Salaam 0 
			 Dhaka 16 
			 Doha 16 
			 Dubai 4 
			 Dublin 1 
			 Dusseldorf 2 
			 Frankfurt 2 
			 Guangzhou 5 
			 Harare 8 
			 Hong Kong 4 
			 Islamabad 47 
			 Istanbul 6 
			 Jakarta 1 
			 Kubul 1 
			 Kampala 2 
			 Karachi 3 
			 Kathmandu 1 
			 Khartoum 1 
			 Kiev 2 
			 Kingston 5 
			 Kinshasa 1 
			 Kolkata 1 
			 Kuala Lumpur 2 
			 Kuwait 1 
			 Kyiv 0 
			 Lisbon 1 
			 Lagos 24 
			 Madrid 1 
			 Manila 4 
			 Moscow 6 
			 Mumbai 12 
			 Moscow 0 
			 Nairobi 10 
			 New York 1 
			 New Delhi 13 
			 Nicosia 1 
			 Nuremberg 0 
			 Paris 51 
			 Nicosia 0 
			 Pretoria 5 
			 Quito 1 
			 Rome 2 
			 Sarajevo/Bosnia 0 
			 Seoul 2 
			 Shanghai 3 
			 Sierra Leone 1 
			 Skopje 1 
			 Sofia 3 
			 St. Petersburg 1 
			 Tehran 3 
			 The Hague 0 
			 Tirana 1 
			 Tunis 0 
			 Tripoli 2 
			 Vienna 1 
			 Warsaw 3 
			 Yaounde 1 
			 Zagreb 2 
			 Total 376

Indefinite Leave to Remain

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been affected by the suspension of casework for indefinite leave to remain applications made under the provisions of the European Community Association Agreement between March 2004 and February 2005; what the size of the backlog is; what the cost is of dealing with these cases; what steps his Department is taking to address the situation; when he expects the backlog to be cleared; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 18 April 2006
	An estimated 3,248 European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) applications for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) were affected by the suspension of ECAA casework between 30 March 2004 and 14 February 2005.
	This figure includes those cases lodged prior to 30 March 2004, which were put on hold on the date of suspension; those received during the suspension and those submitted since resumption of case consideration. There are currently 2,367 ECAA applications for ILR outstanding.
	This information is provisional management information and may be subject to change.
	Data on the costs of dealing with this specific category of application are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Significant additional casework resource has already been allocated to this work. It remains the Department's aim, subject to intake levels, to reduce the backlog of ECAA applications to frictional levels by the end of 2006.

Indefinite Leave to Remain

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether compensation will be available to businesses and individuals who have been adversely affected by the suspension of casework for indefinite leave to remain applications made under the provisions of the European Community Association Agreement between March 2004 and February 2005.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 18 April 2006
	The suspension was required to strengthen the regime for consideration of these applications and on that basis there are no plans to offer compensation.

Ministerial Visits

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which (a) probation offices, (b) prisons and (c) drug rehabilitation centres officials in his Department have visited since 1997; and for what purposes in each case.

Fiona Mactaggart: This information is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate costs in gathering this information.

Police (Ethnic Minorities)

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to increase the number of recruits from ethnic minorities into the police; whether a target has been set for the Metropolitan Police Service; and whether this target has been broken down by (a) ethnic and (b) other minority groups.

Hazel Blears: It remains the Government's policy that the composition of the police workforce should reflect the communities which it serves. The Police Service continues to make progress against the Home Secretary's recruitment targets for 2009, and all forces are committed to recruit from minority ethnic groups in proportion to, or at a level above, their representation in the local economically active population. Performance against this objective is a key performance indicator in the Policing Performance Assessment Framework.
	The Home Office is working with the Police Service to accelerate the pace of change. The measures currently in hand include promoting the use of outreach workers in police forces, engagement with student faith societies and black students' unions to encourage applications from minority ethnic graduates and measures to increase minority ethnic applications to the High Potential Development Scheme. The Home Office has developed in collaboration with force recruitment departments materials aimed at increasing recruitment from minority ethnic groups, including multi-lingual recruitment material, a toolkit providing best practice guidance for familiarisation events and a video to familiarise applicants with police assessment and selection procedures.
	In 1999, two per cent of police officers were from minority ethnic communities, the latest available figures show that at 31 March 2005 black and minority ethnic police officers made up 3.5 per cent. of total officer strength and that minority ethnic representation across the Service as a whole, including special constables and police staff, stood at 4.6 per cent.
	The Home Secretary's Employment Targets which were published in 1999 set the Metropolitan Police a target of 25 per cent. ethnic minority representation within the force to be achieved by 2009. The latest available figures show that as at 31 March 2005; 7 per cent. of police officers (an increase from 3.3 per cent. in 1999), 20.8 per cent. of special constables (an increase from 13.9 per cent. in 1999) and 21.9 per cent. of police staff (an increase from 14.6 per cent. in 1999) within the Metropolitan Police were from ethnic minorities. The target set for the Metropolitan Police is based solely on ethnicity.

Probation Service

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action was taken in each year since 1997 to address each complaint about (a) Essex and (b) Southend probation service.

Fiona Mactaggart: In 2001 the Secretary of State agreed the National Complaints Procedure that enables local probation areas to handle complaints. Each complaint made about the Essex probation service is investigated under a three stage process. The three stages are: informal investigation by the local office, formal investigation by the chief officer or a senior officer nominated by the chief officer, and finally the appeal stage when a panel of three board members hears the appeal. Unresolved local complaints can be escalated to the independent Prison and Probation Ombudsman.
	Essex probation area will maintain their own record of complaints received from offenders and the outcome of these cases.

Public Order

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to tackle antisocial behaviour in Southend West; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Southend on Sea is an action area—one of 50 areas across the country who work closely with the Home Office to ensure a high level of commitment to tackle antisocial behaviour locally.
	With effect from 18 April, South Eastern Division of Essex Police is adopting Neighbourhood Policing, some two years before the national due date. Each Neighbourhood Policing Team will have a nominated officer who will be able to take calls relating to non emergency calls, including antisocial behaviour. Southend Antisocial Behaviour Team are in the process of setting up community engagement panels in which residents will have a direct input into the policing of their areas.
	Recently high visibility patrols including Police Community Support Officers have been carried out throughout West Southend tackling all aspects of crime and antisocial behaviour. The area has several parks and open spaces and patrols are regularly carried out here.
	The Police work together with the Southend Multi Agency Antisocial Behaviour Response Team (SMAART) in taking a twin track approach to perpetrators of antisocial behaviour using both preventative and enforcement action. This includes among others working with the Youth Offending Service in addressing behaviour through to obtaining antisocial behaviour orders.

UK Immigration Procedures

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) detained and (b) questioned by immigration officials at Heathrow airport in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by ethnic group.

Tony McNulty: In 2005–06, 25,040 were interviewed, of which 21,287 were detained by UK Immigration Service staff at Heathrow airport only and do not include detention centres.
	Note
	These figures are from locally collated management information and as such are subject to change. It is not possible to obtain these figures broken down by ethnic group as this information is not held centrally and can therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Vehicles (Crime) Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of section 38 of the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	Section 38 of the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001 gives the Secretary of State powers to make payments in relation to;
	the prevention or detection of speeding or red light offences, or any enforcement action or proceedings in respect of such offences or any alleged such offences.
	Section 38 provides the legal basis for the safety camera programme 'netting off' scheme which allows the police, highway authorities and magistrates courts, working in local 'Safety Camera Partnerships' to be reimbursed for the costs of safety cameras and follow-up enforcement from fixed penalty fines for speeding and red light offences.
	On 15 December 2005 the Secretary of State announced that the netting off funding arrangement for safety cameras was to cease on 31 March 2007.

World Cup

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how his Department is working with the German Government to prevent hooliganism by British fans at the 2006 World Cup.

Paul Goggins: There is very close and effective liaison with the German Government, police and civil authorities at Federal and Lander levels. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and Herr Schauble (German Interior Minister) signed an agreement last month covering governmental, police, judicial and other co-operation. Detailed arrangements are in place to minimise the risk of significant English football disorder during the World Cup, the cornerstone of which is tough football banning order legislation which prevents known risk fans from leaving England and Wales during the tournament.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Exports

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Government agency is responsible for monitoring the end-use of UK arms exports; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The possibility of diversion of exported goods to an undesirable end use is part of the strict risk assessment undertaken by all four Government Departments (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development) involved in the export licensing process at the time of application, which takes into account relevant information the Government may hold, including from the Government's overseas posts. Should information come to light that goods have been diverted, the Government will take this into consideration when assessing any future applications. The Government may also revoke the relevant licence(s) and ask the authorities in the country concerned to investigate.

Chad

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Chad; and what discussions he has had with representatives of the rebel army.

Ian Pearson: The Chadian army defeated attacks on N'Djamena and Adre by rebel groups on 13 April. The United Nations Security Council condemned the attempt to overthrow the Government of Chad by force and called on the parties to resolve their political differences by negotiation.
	We are concerned about the current political and security situation in Chad not only for the safety and security of Chadian and any remaining UK nationals, but also for the impact of an extended conflict on over 200,000 refugees from Darfur, now sheltering in camps in Eastern Chad. Our non-resident Ambassador to Chad met the Chadian Foreign Minister in N'Djamena on 4 April and made clear that the UK expects Chad to do its utmost to reduce tensions on the border with Sudan.
	Chad is due to hold presidential elections on 3 May 2006. The UK is working with EU partners to urge the Chadian authorities to ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process in which all parties can participate.
	Ministers have had no discussions with the rebel groups. A representative of one of the rebel groups has initiated limited contact with our Special Representative to Darfur.

China

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of China since 2002 about the implementation of the Population and Birth-planning Law 2001; what response was received; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government have not had any discussions with the Chinese government about China's right or need to implement family planning policies, as set out in the Law on Population and Birth Planning. However, we remain concerned about reports of enforced sterilisation and abortion in China. We believe that China's family planning policies should be based on the principle of consent, and not coercion, as espoused by the International Conference on Population and Development. We will continue to raise our concerns where this is an issue, both in our bilateral contacts and with EU Partners.

China

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of China since 1997 about trends in its population; what response he has received; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: China's population trends impact on a wide range of policy areas, including social security, pension planning, migrant workforces and poverty alleviation. We take due account of these trends in our discussions of policy issues with the Chinese Government. Although the Government have never questioned China's right or need to implement family planning policies, we have raised concerns about reports of enforced sterilisation and abortion. Where appropriate, we will continue to broach this subject with the Chinese authorities on a bilateral basis and in conjunction with EU partners.

Cuba

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of South Sudan on the presence of Lord's Resistance Army militia in Cuba.

Ian Pearson: The UK continues to stress the importance of tackling the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in its discussions with the Government of Southern Sudan. Close co-operation with the Ugandan and Congolese Governments is crucial, as is full support for effecting the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for five senior LRA commanders. The importance of the ICC process was emphasised by our ambassador in Khartoum in a meeting with Salva Kiir, President of the Government of Southern Sudan, at the end of 2005.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made regarding the recent arrest of Bria Mackosso and Christian Mounzeo in the Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: We understand that Bria Mackosso and Christian Mounzeo were arrested following accusations of misappropriation of funds from the human rights organisation founded by Mr. Mounzeo. Local non-governmental organisations and media have strongly criticised the arrests as irregular and politically motivated. The human rights situation in the Republic of Congo remains poor, with limited freedom of expression. The UK takes seriously the protection of human rights and their defenders. We have raised our concerns about these arrests with the Republic of Congo Embassy in Kinshasa. We will continue to monitor the case.

Democratic Republic of Congo

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of the human rights situations pertaining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with particular reference to the treatment of human rights activists in Katanga province.

Ian Pearson: The human rights situation across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains poor. Congolese civilians, particularly in eastern DRC, continue to suffer abuses committed by militias, foreign armed groups and ill-disciplined and poorly-controlled Congolese army soldiers.
	The UK is committed to the protection of human rights and human rights defenders across the DRC. Ending the climate of impunity remains a high priority. We are in regular contact with United Nations and non-governmental organisation teams working in Katanga who keep us updated on the human rights situation there. The imminent arrival of troops temporarily transferred from the UN Mission in Burundi should help to deter future abuses. And, with international community partners, we have told the Congolese Government that we hold it responsible for the abuses committed by its own soldiers, including in Katanga. President Kabila has promised that his Government will take positive action.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the decision of President Yoweri Museveni to send Ugandan troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ian Pearson: The Ugandan Government have raised concerns about the threat posed to regional security by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), some of whom are believed to be in the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Ugandan Government have said that if Uganda is attacked over the border from DRC by the LRA, Ugandan forces would respond. But we are not aware that President Museveni has taken a decision to send Ugandan troops to the DRC.
	We agree that the LRA are a threat to regional peace and that those commanders facing International Criminal Court arrest warrants need to be brought to justice. But in signing the Lusaka (1999) and Luanda accords (2002), Uganda undertook to withdraw its troops from the DRC and to stay out.
	The international community has emphasised the need for the DRC's territorial sovereignty to be respected in a number of UN Security Council Resolutions. In recent weeks my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, Gareth Thomas, and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Kampala and New York have all underlined to the Ugandan Government the UK's opposition to any unilateral Ugandan military interventions in the DRC.

Departmental Leave (Stress)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people have been on sick leave suffering from stress in his Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage of the total staff number this represents.

Jack Straw: Although sick absence information is recorded on our computerised Management Information system, we do not currently have a method of extracting the specific reason for absence. In order for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to obtain this data, it would require all sickness absence records to be manually checked for the last three years. This would be both time consuming and incur disproportionate costs. Therefore, we are developing a customised report to enable us to analyse the data by absence type. My officials will write to the hon. Member as soon as the figures are available.

Foreign Policy Centre

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role his Department has in appointments to the advisory council of the Foreign Policy Centre.

Jack Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no role in appointments to the Foreign Policy Centre's Advisory Council.

Guantanamo Bay

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the conditions under which detainees are being held at Guantanamo Bay.

Kim Howells: We have made it clear that we regard the circumstances under which detainees continue to be held in Guantanamo Bay as unacceptable. The US Government is fully aware of our views.

Indonesia

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Indonesia regarding the impending executions of (a) Fabianus Tibo, (b) Domingus da Silva and (c) Marianus Riwu in Sulawesi; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: On 14 November 2005, as EU Presidency, we expressed to the Government of Indonesia the EU's regret at the decision to carry out the executions and urged the Indonesian government not to do so and to consider the abolition of the death penalty altogether.
	At present, there are no plans for the Government to make further representations on these cases. However, the current EU presidency, Austria, followed this up with the Government of Indonesia in January in separate meetings with the Minister of Law and Human Rights and the Attorney-General and in a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
	We understand the Indonesian Supreme Court has reopened these cases, which we welcome.

Indonesia

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will intercede in the case of (a) Fabianus Tibo, (b) Domingus da Silva and (c) Marianus Riwu in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today (UIN 64814) to my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin).

Nepal

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the King of Nepal on the current instability in Nepal.

Kim Howells: The UK has made regular representations to the King and Government of Nepal, calling on them to restore democracy and to pursue a negotiated political settlement to the conflict involving all of the main actors. Most recently, on 5 April officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) met with the Nepalese ambassador to the UK. We told him that the King and Government were to a large extent responsible for the current impasse: the King's offer to talk to the parties did not amount to a substantive move towards restoration of democracy. We conveyed our concerns about the dangers of a heavy-handed crackdown in response to demonstrations, including the announcement of a shoot to kill policy.
	In February FCO officials visited Kathmandu and met with the Home Minister. They conveyed our concerns about continuing arrests and detention of political activists, restrictions on the media and the absence of consultations involving all sides in Nepal leading to a full return to democracy.
	From 1824 March the hon. Member was part of a delegation of British parliamentarians which visited Nepal, funded by the FCO under the Global Conflict Prevention Pool. That visit aimed to support the democratic movement and put pressure on the King to restore democracy. The first objective was achieved. The delegation held high profile meetings, both individually and in joint seminars, with all the main party leaders except Madhav Kumar Nepal. The delegation encouraged party activists in Biratnagar, Nepal's second largest town, in the Terai. The second objective proved more difficult. The King avoided meeting the delegation. The delegation did meet the King's most senior advisor, Tulsi Giri, and the Chief of Army Staff. They also had dinner with a number of the King's advisors.
	On 11 April, the presidency of the European Union issued a statement deploring the escalating violence and excessive use of force by all sides and calling upon those concerned to exercise restraint. The statement also called on the King of Nepal to take an urgent initiative to resolve the present problems by restoring democracy and by reaching out to all political forces to initiate a dialogue for peace.

Nepal

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the actions of Maoist insurgents in Nepal; and what assessment he has made of the implications of such actions for British-Nepalese relations.

Kim Howells: The Maoists have committed innumerable abhorrent acts including murder, abduction, extortion and intimidation of innocent people. We condemn these acts of violence and have clearly stated that we cannot condone their violence and intimidation in any circumstances.
	We deeply regret the Maoists' decision to end their unilateral ceasefire in January 2006 but welcome the current Maoist ceasefire within Kathmandu. We believe that the Maoists must eventually join a wider peace process because a military victory by either side is unachievable.
	The insurgency risks destabilising Nepal and has implications for regional security and important UK interests, particularly Gurkha recruitment and welfare and the provision of development assistance.

Nepal

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assurances the King of Nepal has given to (a) the UK Government and (b) the European Union that the elections to be held in Nepal in 2007 will be held on a free and fair basis;and what assessment he has made of the powers the King is likely to relinquish to any freely elected party.

Kim Howells: The King has set out his roadmap for parliamentary elections without due consultation with the political parties. For parliamentary elections to be credible, they would need to take place in the context of an overall peace process and within a political and security climate which enables all parties to put up candidates for free and fair polls. If the elections take place in April 2007, the King will be judged on his actions. It is too early to assess how the King is likely to react to any freely elected party.

Nepal

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he plans to take towards ensuring that the elections to be held in Nepal in 2007 are free and fair.

Kim Howells: For parliamentary elections to be credible, they would need to take place in the context of an overall peace process and within a political and security climate which attracts all parties to put up candidates for free and fair polls. Working with international partners, as well as in bilateral contacts with the King, Government and the political parties, we will continue to urge the King to act urgently to restore full democracy and enable negotiations to agree a consensus roadmap towards peace.

Nepal

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is prepared to take if the elections to be held in Nepal in 2007 are not conducted on a free and fair basis.

Kim Howells: For parliamentary elections to be credible, they would need to take place in the context of an overall peace process and within a political and security climate which enables all parties to put up candidates for free and fair polls. It is too early to say what circumstances will pertain if and when elections are held. We will judge our response in light of those circumstances.

Nepal

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which international observers he expects to take part in the elections in Nepal in 2007 to ensure that they are free and fair; what action he plans to take to ensure that such observers take part in the election; and what representations he has made to the King of Nepal on the participation of observers.

Kim Howells: Elections can only take place in the context of a secure environment and a meaningful political process. It is too early to say what conditions will pertain at the time of any elections, or even if elections will be possible in the timeframe indicated by the King, and therefore what role election observers might play.

Peace Talks (Abuja)

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the peace talks in Abuja.

Ian Pearson: The talks continue in permanent session, but progress is still slow. When my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary addressed the talks on 14 February, he made clear that we expected more rapid progress. We welcome the African Union's emphasis on the need for a high-level push to secure a peace agreement by the end of April. We are pressing the parties to reach a deal by this date.

Proliferation Security Initiative

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many exercises are planned to support the Proliferation Security Initiative in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007.

Kim Howells: Australia and the Netherlands both hosted exercises in April 2006 in support of the Proliferation Security Initiative. Turkey and France plan to host exercises in summer 2006. The United Kingdom is planning a maritime industry workshop for autumn 2006. As yet there are no scheduled exercises for 2007.

Rendition Flights

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times he was notified by the US Administration that flights ordered by the Central Intelligence Agency would be landing in the UK in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: None. There is no requirement for the Government to be notified of such flights.

Student Visas (Iran)

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas have been issued to students from Iran in each year since 1997; and which subjects for (a) study and (b) research they indicated a wish to pursue.

Kim Howells: The number of student visas issued in Tehran between 1997 and 200405 is provided in the table. UKvisas does not hold records detailing which subjects these students intended to study.
	
		
			  Issued 
		
		
			 1997 203 
			 1998 0 
			 1999 623 
			 2000 685 
			 200102 954 
			 200203 900 
			 200304 977 
			 200405 1,151 
			 Total 5,493 
		
	
	Note:
	Prior to 200102, entry clearance statistics were published by calendar year.

Sudan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contingency plans the UK Government have for the absence of a peace agreement for Darfur.

Ian Pearson: The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to bring peace to Darfur. In the absence of a peace agreement we have been a leading supporter of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), contributing over 50 million. The African Union (AU) has done a good job in improving security in the region. But the situation is evolving and a more multi-disciplinary approach is now needed. We therefore support handover to a UN mission when AMIS' current mandate expires on 30 September.
	But only a political solution will bring lasting peace and security to Darfur. We fully support the AU-led peace talks in Abuja and are pressing the parties to reach a deal as soon as possible. We welcome the AU's commitment to reach an agreement by the end of April. When my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary addressed the talks on 14 February, he made clear to the parties that if they do not reach an agreement soon, we, with the AU, would need to start looking at the alternatives. If necessary, we will take this discussion forward with the AU and international partners.

Sudan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the UK Government (a) is taking and (b) is prepared to take to uphold the United Nations mandate in Sudan.

Ian Pearson: We support fully the existing mandate for the United Nations Mission in Sudan and welcome the African Union's decision to support in principle the African Mission in Sudan's transition to a UN force in Darfur. We are supporting UN planning to deploy a future UN military force to Darfur and will seek to ensure they have the mandate necessary to operate there.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs what support the Government is giving to establish (a) legal systems and (b) an independent judiciary in the Sudan.

Ian Pearson: We are providing 7.2 million to support capacity building and reform of legal systems. This includes training, awareness raising, equipment and basic infrastructure for the police, the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary and the prison service. We are also providing more substantial and longer-term support to legal systems through the Multi Donor Trust Funds for the north and south.
	We are working to achieve independence of the judiciary through the establishment of the National Judicial Service Commission. We are also contributing towards a Judiciary Programme in the north under the Multi Donor Trust Fund, totalling 10 million. This is aimed at helping the judiciary to maintain its independence, build a knowledge base and to effectively and fairly apply the law. A similar programme is envisaged for the south.

Sylvarius Baye

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to make contact with the entry clearance officers who dealt with the case of Sylvarius Baye (UK Visa Reference GV100/113504/NW/RK); when he first attempted to make contact with those officers; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, with responsibility for entry clearance, will write to my hon. Friend about this case as I cannot comment on individual cases.

United Nations (Votes)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions on which (a) the UK has voted against and the US has voted for and (b) the UK has voted for and the US has voted against the adoption of measures at the United Nations since 1997.

Kim Howells: Since 1997 the UK and the US have voted differently in the UN Security Council on 16 occasions.
	The US abstained, while the UK voted in favour, on the following six resolutions (resn.) which were passed by the Security Council:
	1322 (2000) on the situation in the Occupied Territories (OTs)
	1372 (2000) on the lifting of Sudan sanctions
	1435 (2002) on the OTs
	1506 (2003) on the lifting of Libya sanctions
	1544 (2004) on the OTs
	1593 (2005) on referral of the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court
	The US voted no, while the UK voted in favour, on the following four draft Security Council resolutions:
	draft resn. S/l997/199 (7 March 1997) on the OTs
	draft resn. S/l997/241 (21 March 1997) on the OTs
	draft resn. S/2002/712 (30 June 2002) on extension of the mandate of UNMIBH (UN Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina)
	draft resn. S/2002/1385 (20 December 2002) on the OTs
	The US voted no, while the UK abstained, on the following six draft Security Council resolutions, which all referred to the situation in the Ots;
	draft resn. S/2001/270 (27 March 2001)
	draft resn. S/2001/1199 (14 December 2001)
	draft resn. S/2003/891 (16 September 2003)
	draft resn. S/2003/980 (14 October 2003)
	draft resn. S/2004/204 (25 March 2004)
	draft resn. S/2004/783 (5 October 2004)
	Voting information on all Security Council resolutions is available on the United Nations website at www.un.org.

TREASURY

Baby Deaths (Overlaying)

Mary Creagh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many babies died as a result of overlaying while co-sleeping with their parents in each of the past 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 24 April 2006
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many babies died as a result of overlaying whilst co-sleeping with their parents in each of the past 10 years. I am replying in her absence. (64456)
	Statistics are not routinely available on the number of babies dying as a result of overlaying whilst co-sleeping with their parents. Since 2001, deaths have been coded to the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). This includes a code that combines deaths from 'accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed'. Figures for these deaths, in England and Wales for the years 2001 to 2004, are given in the table attached. Prior to 2001 deaths were coded to the ninth revision of the ICD (ICD-9). Figures based on ICD-9 are not comparable to those using ICD-10.
	
		Number of deaths in children under age one from accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed (5), England and Wales, 200104 (6)
		
			  (7)Neonatal deaths (8)Postneonatal deaths 
		
		
			 2001 4 19 
			 2002 7 10 
			 2003 2 16 
			 2004 4 7 
		
	
	(5)Figures selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), code W75 'Accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed'.
	(6)Source:
	Office for National Statistics
	Series DH2 Mortality statisticsby cause
	Series DH3 Mortality statisticschildhood, infant and perinatal
	(7)Deaths at ages up to 27 completed days of life where mention of infant conditions coded to W75 is made on the neonatal death certificate.
	(8)Deaths at ages 28 days and over but under one year where underlying cause of death coded to W75 is made on the death certificate.

Budget 2006 (Leaflets)

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Budget 2006 summary leaflets were printed; and at what cost.

John Healey: Just over 1 million Budget 2006 summary leaflets were printed. The total cost of producing the Budget summary leaflets was around 151,000. The printing cost was around 69,000 and the distribution cost was around 82,000 as met from within the Treasury's departmental expenditure limits.
	The leaflet is designed to provide a concise and informative summary of the Budget for a wide audience.

Budget 2006 (Leaflets)

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Budget 2006 summary leaflets were distributed to (a) doctors' surgeries, (b) hospitals and (c) other health service-related locations; and what the cost was of the distribution.

John Healey: The following table shows the number of Budget 2006 summary leaflets distributed to doctors' surgeries, hospitals and other health service related organisations.
	
		
			 Location Number of leaflets distributed 
		
		
			 (a) Doctors' surgeries (9)200,000 
			 (b) Hospitals (9)187,000 
			 (c) Other health service related organisations (9)107,000 
		
	
	(9)Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand
	The total cost of distribution of the Budget 2006 summary leaflet was around 82,000 including VAT. All costs were met from within the Treasury's departmental expenditure limits.
	The summary leaflet is designed to provide a concise and informative summary of the Budget. It is aimed at a wide audience, and was also sent to other public organisations such as libraries, post offices, schools and universities.

Public Sector Finance

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the budget surplus or deficit was, excluding expenditure on investment, for each financial year from 199798 to 200506 as a percentage of gross domestic product.

Des Browne: Outturns for the public sector current budget as a percentage of GDP from 199798 to 200405 can be found in the monthly Office for National Statistics publication Public sector finances. The Budget forecast for the public sector current budget in 200506 was published in Table C1 of Budget 2006.

Cancer

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) diagnosis and (b) mortality rate was for cancer in each of the last five years in the West Lancashire constituency.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 24 April 2006
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the (a) diagnosis and (b)mortality rate was for cancer in each of the last five years in the West Lancashire constituency. I am replying in her absence.
	The most recent available figures for newly diagnosed cases of all cancers combined are for the year 2003. Incidence rates are not available centrally for Parliamentary Constituencies.
	Age-standardised incidence rates (directly standardised to the European standard population) for West Lancashire local authority for 19992003 are given in the table below.
	
		Directly age-standardised incidence rates(10) per 100,000 population of all cancers(11) (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) in West Lancashire local authority, 19992003
		
			  West Lancashire LA 
			  Male Female Persons 
		
		
			 1999 406.6 378.5 384.9 
			 2000 446.6 377.8 401.6 
			 2001 393.4 333.0 356.4 
			 2002 401.3 380.7 385.9 
			 2003 356.3 337.5 340.0 
		
	
	(10)Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population are directly standardised to the European standard population. In detailed analyses of trends in incidence and mortality over time for a particular cancer, ONS use age-standardised rates. These control for differences in the size and age structure of the population and allow unbiased comparison of rates over time.
	(11)International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97 excluding C44.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics
	The most recent available figures for deaths from all cancers combined are for the year 2004. Age-standardised mortality rates (directly standardised to the European standard population) for West Lancashire local authority for 19992004 can be found on the Clinical and Health Outcomes Knowledge Base website. http://www.nchod.nhs.uk/.

Cancer

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) standard mortality rate and (b) number of deaths was for (i) women dying from breast cancer and (ii) (A) women and (B) men dying from all cancers in (1)York and (2) North Yorkshire in (x) 1997 and (y) the latest year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 April 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what the (a) SMR and (b) number of deaths was for (i) women dying from breast cancer and (ii) (A) women and (B) men dying from all cancers in (1) York and (2) North Yorkshire in (aa) 1997 and (bb) in the latest year for which figures are available. (64337)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2004. Numbers of deaths and age-standardised death rates for 2004 and 1997 are provided in the following table. Death rates for 1997 have been adjusted to take account of the introduction of the Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases in 2001.
	
		Number of deaths and death rates(12) for all cancers and female breast cancer,(13) for York unitary authority and the county of North Yorkshire,(14)1997 and 2004 (15)
		
			  All cancers Breast cancer 
			  Males Females Females 
		
		
			 Number of deaths
			 York
			 1997 228 197 38 
			 2004 215 212 39 
			 North Yorkshire
			 1997 794 736 126 
			 2004 832 749 135 
			 Death rates(12) per 100,000 population 
			 York
			 1997 229.9 136.6 31.1 
			 2004 193.0 135.7 28.2 
			 North Yorkshire
			 1997 227.3 153.9 30.5 
			 2004 203.6 143.8 29.7 
		
	
	(12)Rates per 100,000 population standardised to the European Standard Population.
	Directly age-standardised rates have been supplied rather than Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMRs) to allow comparisons between 1997 and 2004, between York and North Yorkshire and between the sexes.
	(13)The causes of death for 2004 were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10)
	All cancers (malignant neoplasms)ICD-10 C00-C97
	Breast cancerICD-10 C50
	The causes of death for 1997 were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9).
	The codes used are listed below:
	All cancers (malignant neoplasms)ICD-9 140208
	Breast cancerICD-9 174
	Deaths were selected using the original underlying cause.
	The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in England and Wales in 2001 means that data for all cancers and female breast cancer are not completely comparable with data for years before this date. The effect of the change in classification in 2001 on deaths from these causes is described in a report published in May 2002:
	Office for National Statistics. Results of the ICD-10 bridge coding study, England and Wales, 1999.
	Health Statistics Quarterly 14 (2002), 7583.
	For all cancers (malignant neoplasms) the introduction of ICD-10 caused an increase of 2.5 per cent. and 2.2 per cent. for males and females respectively and for female breast cancer an increase of 2.7 per cent. in the number of deaths coded to these conditions in England and Wales. Death rates for 1997 from these causes have been adjusted to make them comparable with those for 2004. The numbers of deaths have not been adjusted.
	(14)Usual residents of these areas. Deaths were assigned to these areas using the November 2005 All Fields Postcode Directory. The county of North Yorkshire excludes York unitary authority.
	(15)Deaths registered in each calendar year.

Cancer

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) diagnosis and (b) mortality rate was for cancer in each of the last five years in Ribble Valley constituency.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 24 April 2006
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the (a) diagnosis and (b)mortality rate was for cancer in each of the last five years in Ribble Valley constituency. I am replying in her absence.
	The most recent available figures for newly diagnosed cases of all cancers combined are for the year 2003. Incidence rates are not available centrally for parliamentary constituencies.
	Age-standardised incidence rates (directly standardised to the European standard population) for Ribble Valley local authority for 19992003 are given in the table below.
	
		Directly age-standardised incidence rates(16) per 100,000 population of all cancers(17) (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) in Ribble Valley local authority, 19992003
		
			  Ribble Valley LA 
			  Male Female Persons 
		
		
			 1999 455.9 280.0 353.9 
			 2000 456.8 338.6 378.7 
			 2001 475.7 421.1 431.4 
			 2002 433.3 304.1 363.2 
			 2003 420.4 314.6 359.8 
		
	
	(16)Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population are directly standardised to the European standard population. In detailed analyses of trends in incidence and mortality over time for a particular cancer, ONS use age-standardised rates. These control for differences in the size and age structure of the population and allow unbiased comparison of rates over time.
	(17)International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97 excluding C44.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics
	The most recent available figures for deaths from all cancers combined are for the year 2004. Age-standardised mortality rates (directly standardised to the European standard population) for Ribble Valley local authority for 19992004 can be found on the Clinical and Health Outcomes Knowledge Base website. http://www.nchod.nhs.uk/.

Correspondence

John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Parliamentary Business Unit of the Tax Credit Office will respond to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West's letters of (a) 20 December 2005 and (b) 19 January 2006 with regard to his constituent Mr.Terence Boyd.

Dawn Primarolo: The Tax Credit Office replied in January 2006 and has provided copies of those replies to the hon. Member's constituency office.

EU Sixth VAT Directive

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations the Treasury has received on the EU Sixth VAT Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Sixth VAT Directive provides the basis for the application of VAT in EU member states. It is therefore the subject of many representations to the Treasury.

Family Hardship

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) essential living expenses and (b) estimated weekly costs are taken into account in the calculation of family hardship when considering the recovery of an overpayment under code of practice note 26; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: When considering the recovery of an overpayment each individual case will be dealt with according to its circumstances as these will vary from case-to-case. In the calculation of family hardship, examples of essential living expenses that will be taken into account are: food, vital services (e.g. gas, electricity, water), rent or mortgage payments, court fines, council tax payments, and maintenance/child support.
	In addition to the costs noted, other examples of estimated weekly costs that are taken into account include telephone bills, fares and motoring costs, insurance, pension payments, health, television licence payments and repairs and maintenance.

Financial Services Authority

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has put in place to ensure value for money from the operation of the Financial Services Authority.

Ivan Lewis: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), enables the Treasury to hold an independent review of the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has used its resources in discharging its functions. As announced in the pre- Budget report 2005, the Treasury aims to hold the first such review in the near future.

Financial Services Authority

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role the Financial Services Authority has in improving consumer understanding of financial matters.

Ivan Lewis: The Financial Services Authority has a statutory responsibility to promote public understanding of the financial system and to secure the right degree of protection for consumers. The FSA's annual report, which is laid before Parliament, explains how this statutory remit has been met.
	The FSA leads work on the national strategy for financial capability involving a range of other partners, including Government, the financial services industry, employers' organisations and trades unions, the media, consumer bodies and the voluntary sector. Over the coming year the focus for the strategy will be on the following seven key priorities:
	Embedding personal finance education in schools;
	Helping students in higher education and young people not in education, employment or training manage their money;
	Providing generic financial guidance through the workplace;
	Providing resources for those taking maternity or paternity leave;
	Distributing more widely the financial health check and an on-line tool to help people assess their debt position;
	Examination of whether there is a commercial case for the delivery of a more widespread generic financial advice service; and
	As part of a revised FSA consumer communication strategy, revamping and re-launching the information and tools it provides to consumers.

Financial Services Authority

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what public participation in its operation the Financial Services Authority provides for.

Ivan Lewis: This is an operational matter for the FSA. The Chairman of the FSA will write to the hon. Member directly.

Fiscal Golden Rule

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of whether his fiscal golden rule would have been complied with had the assessment of the economic cycle not been altered in (a) July 2005 and (b) December 2005.

Des Browne: Progress against the golden rule is measured across the full economic cycle. It is misleading to assess progress over an arbitrary portion of the cycle.
	The latest judgment of the current economic cycle and progress against the golden rule over the cycle was set out in Budget 2006.

GDP

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gross domestic product per capita was in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Scotland and (e) Northern Ireland in each year since 1976.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell dated 24 April 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in each year since 1976.(64197).
	Estimates of GDP per capita for the years 1976 to 1988 are shown in table A. For the years 1989 to 2004 , estimates of Gross Value Added 1 (GVA) per capita are shown in table B. GVA is similar in concept to GDP but the estimates are not directly comparable.
	The figures in table A are based on data published in 1998, the last time estimates for 1976 to 1988 were updated. Figures in tableB are based on regional GVA published in December 2005. Estimates for 2005 are expected to be published in December of this year.
	1 Gross value added (GVA) is gross domestic product (GDP) less taxes (plus subsidies) on products. These data are current price estimates which are not adjusted for changes in prices over time.
	
		Table A: Gross domestic product per capita 1976 to 1988(18) -- 
		
			  United Kingdom England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 1976 1,968 1,989 1,708 1,927 1,582 
			 1977 2,291 2,295 1,966 2,190 1,805 
			 1978 2,630 2,639 2,204 2,452 2,023 
			 1979 3,052 3,019 2,517 2,802 2,334 
			 1980 3,555 3,481 2,867 3,212 2,664 
			 1981 3,869 3,738 3,070 3,542 2,882 
			 1982 4,221 4,070 3,515 3,842 3,175 
			 1983 4,635 4,436 3,789 4,230 3,472 
			 1984 4,946 4,698 3,966 4,440 3,720 
			 1985 5,432 5,213 4,279 4,911 4,050 
			 1986 5,774 5,745 4,817 5,324 4,467 
			 1987 6,327 6,291 5,332 5,826 4,784 
			 1988 7,023 7,053 6,010 6,473 5,303 
		
	
	(18)Gross Domestic Product per head for 19761988 is based on data from the National Accounts Blue Book 1997. As the regional estimates of GDP and GVA are produced on a different basis, they cannot be used in conjunction to form a time series.
	
		Table B: Gross value added per capita 1989 to 2004 -- 
		
			  United Kingdom England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 1989 8,086 8,078 6,715 7,735 5,921 
			 1990 8,761 8,751 7,234 8,449 6,467 
			 1991 9,119 9,107 7,451 8,924 6,890 
			 1992 9,484 9,473 7,764 9,338 7,257 
			 1993 9,960 9,944 8,106 9,776 7,718 
			 1994 10,505 10,470 8,571 10,350 8,171 
			 1995 11,015 10,956 9,026 10,857 8,703 
			 1996 11,699 11,608 9,431 11,402 9,275 
			 1997 12,347 12,324 9,822 11,952 9,743 
			 1998 13,056 13,126 10,189 12,449 10,296 
			 1999 13,622 13,691 10,506 12,847 10,766 
			 2000 14,290 14,247 10,917 13,312 11,241 
			 2001 14,944 14,938 11,515 13,864 11,731 
			 2002 15,691 15,711 12,067 14,658 12,274 
			 2003 16,485 16,521 12,716 15,523 12,893 
			 2004 17,258 17,188 13,292 16,157 13,482

Lower Emission Vehicles

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason Government incentives for lower emission vehicles are limited to those vehicles registered since 2001.

John Healey: Vehicle excise duty rates for cars registered before March 2001 are not set according to CO 2 emissions since the necessary data for cars registered before that data is not available to the DVLA. Cars registered after 2001 are subject to the graduated VED system. There are currently six VED bands for cars registered after March 2001 (band A-F) and seven VED bands for cars registered after March 2006 (band A-G), based on CO 2 emissions.

Maternity Pay

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer why statutory maternity pay is not treated as an equivalent benefit for low-earning parents when assessing the additional payment for the child trust fund for children born between the introduction of the child tax credit and the introduction of the child trust fund; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The child trust fund is designed to give more to those children in low-income households. If a child born before the introduction of child tax credit in April 2003 was part of a household receiving a specified income-related benefit when child benefit was first awarded, an additional payment will be credited to the child's account. Statutory maternity pay is not an income-related benefit. Receipt of statutory maternity pay does not necessarily indicate that a household is on a low income.

National Minimum Wage (West Lancashire)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies in West Lancashire have been (a) fined and (b) forced to cease trading for non-compliance with the national minimum wage since it was introduced.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.

Personal Bankruptcies

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many personal bankruptcies there have been in each quarter since 198990; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	Figures quoted in the following three tables relate to England and Wales, are not seasonally adjusted and they are given by calendar year quarters. Bankruptcy order figures only make up part of the headline individual insolvency series, which also includes individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and deeds of arrangements.
	
		Total individual insolvencies
		
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total 
		
		
			 1989 2,224 2,418 2,159 2,564 9,365 
			 1990 2,942 3,228 3,547 4,270 13,987 
			 1991 5,436 6,058 6,385 7,761 25,640 
			 1992 9,381 9,008 8,759 9,646 36,794 
			 1993 10,942 8,824 8,553 8,384 36,703 
			 1994 8,729 7,984 7,382 6,644 30,739 
			 1995 6,784 6,858 6,402 6,275 26,319 
			 1996 6,982 6,526 6,511 6,252 26,271 
			 1997 6,211 6,478 6,152 5,600 24,441 
			 1998 5,953 5,855 6,380 6,361 24,549 
			 1999 7,025 7,120 7,592 7,069 28,806 
			 2000 7,837 7,532 7,316 6,843 29,528 
			 2001 7,750 7,714 7,434 6,877 29,775 
			 2002 7,411 7,861 7,892 7,423 30,587 
			 2003 8,426 8,889 9,291 8,998 35,604 
			 2004 10,665 11,535 12,227 12,223 46,650 
			 2005 13,190 16,873 18,010 19,507 67,580 
		
	
	
		Individual voluntary arrangements and deeds of arrangement
		
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total 
		
		
			 1989 252 315 322 338 1,227 
			 1990 428 424 529 548 1,929 
			 1991 601 721 862 824 3,008 
			 1992 992 1,217 1,253 1,226 4,688 
			 1993 1,507 1,430 1,381 1,369 5,687 
			 1994 1,314 1,396 1,242 1,153 5,105 
			 1995 1,175 1,020 1,123 1,068 4,386 
			 1996 1,120 1,083 1,065 1,200 4,468 
			 1997 1,094 1,200 1,194 1,061 4,549 
			 1998 1,015 1,100 1,267 1,520 4,902 
			 1999 1,226 1,593 2,227 2,149 7,195 
			 2000 2,170 2,118 1,865 1,825 7,978 
			 2001 1,672 1,599 1,617 1,410 6,298 
			 2002 1,384 1,592 1,643 1,676 6,295 
			 2003 1,514 1,941 2,070 2,058 7,583 
			 2004 2,141 2,475 2,912 3,224 10,752 
			 2005 3,002 4,535 5,754 7,002 20,293 
		
	
	
		Bankruptcy orders
		
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total 
		
		
			 1989 1,972 2,103 1,837 2,226 8,138 
			 1990 2,514 2,804 3,018 3,722 12,058 
			 1991 4,835 5,337 5,523 6,937 22,632 
			 1992 8,389 7,791 7,506 8,420 32,106 
			 1993 9,435 7,394 7,172 7,015 31,016 
			 1994 7,415 6,588 6,140 5,491 25,634 
			 1995 5,609 5,838 5,279 5,207 21,933 
			 1996 5,862 5,443 5,446 5,052 21,803 
			 1997 5,117 5,278 4,958 4,539 19,892 
			 1998 4,938 4,755 5,113 4,841 19,647 
			 1999 5,799 5,527 5,365 4,920 21,611 
			 2000 5,667 5,414 5,451 5,018 21,550 
			 2001 6,078 6,115 5,817 5,467 23,477 
			 2002 6,027 6,269 6,249 5,747 24,292 
			 2003 6,912 6,948 7,221 6,940 28,021 
			 2004 8,524 9,060 9,315 8,999 35,898 
			 2005 10,188 12,338 12,256 12,505 47,287

Population Forecasts

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the population is aged (a) 65 years and over and (b) 18 to 64 years; and what the forecast ratio is for (i) 2007, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010, (iv) 2015 and (v)2020.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 April 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question regarding the proportion of the population aged (a) 65 years and over and (b) 18 to 64 years; and what the forecast ratio is for (i) 2007, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010, (iv) 2015 and (v) 2020. (64020)
	The table below shows the requested information for the United Kingdom.
	
		Proportion of total population by age group, United Kingdom, selected years from 2004 to 2020
		
			  2004 2007 2009 2010 2015 2020 
		
		
			 (a) Per cent. aged 18 to 64 61.9 62.5 62.6 62.6 61.6 60.7 
			 (b) Per cent. aged 65 and over 16.0 16.1 16.5 16.7 18.4 19.5 
			 Ratio of (a) to (b) 3.87 3.88 3.80 3.74 3.35 3.12 
		
	
	Source:
	Mid-2004 population estimates: ONS
	2004-based national population projections: GAD.

Tax Credits

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was overpaid to tax credit recipients in West Lancashire constituency in 200405.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates for 200405 of the number of in-work families with tax credits awards, including information on overpayments and underpayments by constituency, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 200405 will be published on 31 May 2006.

Tax Credits

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of families received tax credits in (a) the UK, (b) the South West and (c) Taunton constituency in each year since their introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of child and working tax credit take-up rates for 200304 are available on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-take-up.htm. National and regional take-up rates for child tax credit are shown in tables 1 and 9 respectively.
	Take-up rate estimates are not available at parliamentary constituency level.

Tax Credits

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax credits are available to full-time carers.

Dawn Primarolo: Child tax credit and working tax credit are available to full-time carers who meet the appropriate qualifying conditions.

Unemployment

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what changes in the level of unemployment there have been in West Lancashire constituency in each year since 2003;
	(2)  what the level of youth unemployment has been in (a) West Lancashire constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each year since 1983.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 April 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about unemployment. (64116, 64294)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1 shows the numbers of unemployed, resident in the West Lancashire Parliamentary Constituency for the 12 month periods ending February 2003 to February 2004 and for the 12 months ending December 2004.
	Table 2 shows the numbers of unemployed aged 16 to 24 resident in the West Lancashire constituency, Lancashire, and the United Kingdom for the, 12 month periods ending February 1995 to February 2004 and for the 12 months ending December 2004.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 3 shows the annual average number of JSA claimants, and changes in levels, for claimants resident in the West Lancashire constituency since 2003.
	Table 4 shows the annual average number of claimants, aged 18 to 24, resident in the West Lancashire constituency, Lancashire, Great Britain and the United Kingdom since 1986. Data for earlier years area not available on a consistent basis.
	
		Table 1: Unemployed resident in the West Lancashire parliamentary constituency -- Thousand
		
			 12 months ending: Number of unemployed 
		
		
			 February 2003 3 
			 February 2004 2 
			 December 2004 3 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual Population Survey.
	
		Table 2: Youth unemployed resident in West Lancashire parliamentary constituency, Lancashire and the United Kingdom -- Thousand
		
			 12 months ending: West Lancashire Lancashire United Kingdom 
		
		
			 February 1995 1 13 n/a 
			 February 1996 2 12 727 
			 February 1997 2 11 684 
			 February 1998 1 9 616 
			 February 1999 (19) 6 583 
			 February 2000 2 11 556 
			 February 2001 (19) 9 535 
			 February 2002 2 9 525 
			 February 2003 1 9 553 
			 February 2004 2 9 557 
			 December 2004 1 12 559 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(19)Disclosive sample size.
	Source:
	Annual Population Survey.
	
		Table 3: JSA claimants resident in the West Lancashire parliamentary constituency
		
			 Annual average Number of claimants Change 
		
		
			 2003 1,659 n/a 
			 2004 1,492 -167 
			 2005 1,534 42 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus administrative systems.
	
		Table 4: JSA claimants, aged 18 to 24, resident in West Lancashire parliamentary constituency, Lancashire, Great Britain and the United Kingdom; annual averages 1986 to 2005 -- Number of JSA claimants aged 18 to 24(20)
		
			 Annual average West Lancashire Lancashire Great Britain United Kingdom 
		
		
			 1986 n/a 17,230 941,205 n/a 
			 1987 n/a 14,465 806,910 n/a 
			 1988 n/a 11,570 626,450 n/a 
			 1989 n/a 8,670 480,100 n/a 
			 1990 n/a 8,120 458,670 n/a 
			 1991 n/a 11,100 660,925 n/a 
			 1992 n/a 12,930 775,470 n/a 
			 1993 n/a 12,430 780,455 n/a 
			 1994 n/a 10,590 685,570 n/a 
			 1995 n/a 9,185 597,350 619,000 
			 1996 1,020 8,095 522,250 543,050 
			 1997 810 6,160 390,100 406,415 
			 1998 725 5,455 324,305 339,000 
			 1999 655 5,030 281,790 294,125 
			 2000 530 4,400 250,270 261,470 
			 2001 480 4,140 230,405 241,220 
			 2002 460 4,025 232,170 242,930 
			 2003 465 3,945 238,720 249,055 
			 2004 415 3,690 226,685 235,910 
			 2005 450 4,040 244,435 253,480 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(20)Computerised claims only. Data rounded to nearest 5 for disclosure control.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus administrative systems.

VAT (Car Allowances)

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much VAT on the road fuel element of car allowances was reclaimed in each year since 1997 up to the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available. HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on VAT relating to individual goods and services.

Departmental Policies

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to West Lancashire constituency the effects in West Lancashire of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

John Healey: The Government have put in place a broad programme of both macroeconomic and microeconomic reform since our election in 1997 designed to improve the economic performance of all parts of the UK. Since these policies were implemented, the economic performance of the West Lancashire constituency has improved considerably. For example, since May 1997, claimant unemployment in West Lancashire has fallen by 35 per cent., while both long-term youth and adult unemployment have fallen by over 75 per cent.
	The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neighbourhood.statistics. gov.uk./.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Altnagelvin Hospital Trust

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) additional resources have been allocated to and (b) measures have been put in place by Altnagelvin Hospital Trust to meet increased need arising from the closure of the accident and emergency department at Tyrone county hospital.

Shaun Woodward: Sperrin Lakeland Trust has worked closely with Altnagelvin to ensure that safe hospital services are available to all of population of the Western Board area.
	In anticipation of increased attendances at Altnagelvin an additional 750,000 was allocated for the creation of a new acute medical unit and to fund the structural changes made to the AE department at Altnagelvin.
	Funding for three additional surgical beds, to accommodate an increase in surgical admissions, has also been approved.
	Altnagelvin is monitoring the situation very closely to ensure that their systems are sufficiently robust to cope with increased attendances.

Carers Allowance

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people receive carers allowance in each (a) parliamentary constituency and(b) council district in Northern Ireland; and how many received the allowance in each of the last three years.

David Hanson: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency Numbers receiving carers allowance 
		
		
			 Belfast East 1,270 
			 Belfast North 2,181 
			 Belfast South 1,018 
			 Belfast West 3,446 
			 East Antrim 1,092 
			 East Londonderry 1,507 
			 Fermanagh And South Tyrone 1,614 
			 Foyle 2,764 
			 Lagan Valley 1,308 
			 Mid Ulster 2,035 
			 Newry And Armagh 2,354 
			 North Antrim 1,492 
			 North Down 889 
			 South Antrim 1,221 
			 South Down 1,966 
			 Strangford 1,326 
			 Upper Bann 2,067 
			 West Tyrone 2,059 
			 Frequency Missing(21) 248 
		
	
	
		
			 Council district Numbers receiving carers allowance 
		
		
			 Antrim 635 
			 Ards 1,063 
			 Armagh 884 
			 Ballymena 732 
			 Ballymoney 466 
			 Banbridge 681 
			 Belfast 6,484 
			 Carrickfergus 449 
			 Castlereagh 782 
			 Coleraine 811 
			 Cookstown 833 
			 Craigavon 1,671 
			 Derry 2,764 
			 Down 1,084 
			 Dungannon 1,082 
			 Fermanagh 1,002 
			 Larne 495 
			 Limavady 696 
			 Lisburn 1,863 
			 Magherafelt 732 
			 Moyle 294 
			 Newry and Mourne 2,302 
			 Newtownabbey 990 
			 North Down 755 
			 Omagh 963 
			 Strabane 1,096 
			 Frequency Missing(21) 248 
		
	
	(21)Parliamentary constituency and council area are assigned using the claimant's postcode, if a postcode is missing then a constituency or council area cannot be assigned.
	
		
			  Numbers receiving carers allowance 
		
		
			 2004 30,204 
			 2005 31,535 
			 2006 31,857 
		
	
	Note:
	Data is taken from January of each year.

Carers Allowance

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have applied for carers allowance in the last 12 months; how many of those applicants are awaiting a decision; what the target length of time is that applicants should wait for a decision; what the average length of time applicants waited for a decision in the latest period for which figures are available is; what the target length of time is that applicants should wait for notification ofdecisions once taken; and for what average length of time applicants waited for such notification in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Hanson: From April 2005 to March 2006 11,642 carer's allowance applications have been received. Of these, 1447 are currently awaiting a decision.
	The target length of time for applicants to wait for a decision in this period was 55 days. The average length of time applicants waited for a decision was 35 days.
	There is no separate target time for the issue of notifications. However, notifications are issued automatically by computer within 24 hours of the decision being made.

CCTV

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the consultation process on the installation of CCTV in West Belfast will be completed; what the reasons are for the time taken for the consultation process; and why East, South and North Belfast did not have an equivalent consultation processes.

Shaun Woodward: In some cases, where urgent response to disorder was necessary, consultation in respect of a number of CCTV cameras was limited. In other cases, community based consultation has taken place with both community and political representatives.
	It has not been possible to identify the nature of the West Belfast CCTV consultation referred to in the question. The most recent CCTV scheme was announced in 2004, when the then Minister of State announced 2 million funding for the development of CCTV systems across Northern Ireland. In that case, interested parties have been invited to make an application to Government for funding to establish new CCTV systems in town centres across Northern Ireland. The closing date for applications has been extended to the 14 April 2006 and an order of merit list will be drawn up and published thereafter.

Craigavon Bridge

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether there are plans to provide additional signage indicating vehicle height restrictions for Craigavon bridge in Derry.

Shaun Woodward: The chief executive of the Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 21 April 2006
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding whether there are plans to provide additional signage indicating vehicle height restrictions for Craigavon Bridge in Derry.
	As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	You will be aware that an incident occurred on 11 April 2006, in which an articulated lorry became lodged on the lower deck of the Craigavon Bridge. Our local officials have checked both the structure of the bridge and the adequacy of the signage and I can advise that damage to the bridge was slight, and that the signage for the lower deck, which was up-graded a few years ago, exceeds the required standard.
	I should explain that Roads Service is required to sign all bridges with headroom less than 16'6 in order to warn drivers of high-sided vehicles of a potential hazard ahead. Accordingly, prominent triangular warning signs advising of a height restriction of 14'3 (4.3m) have been erected both on the lower deck of Craigavon Bridge and at several locations on the immediate approaches. Further prominent signage advising that the lower deck of the bridge is unsuitable for large vehicles has been included on advance signage at the wider approaches to the bridge.
	As you will understand, it is the responsibility for drivers of high-sided lorries to know the height and width of their vehicle and to take notice of both advanced signage and of warning signs in the immediate vicinity of a low structure. You may be interested to know that the Ordnance Survey, in association with Roads Service and Northern Ireland Railways, has produced a map, which has been widely advertised, showing all the low structures across Northern Ireland.

Historical Enquiries Team

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many unsolved murders from each year since 1969 will be reviewed by the Historical Enquiries Team.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised that the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) intends to re-examine all deaths attributable to the security situation between 1968 and 10 April 1998some 3,268 deaths.
	The HET aims to review 400 cases per year for the first two years of the review and 600 cases each for years, three, four, five and six. The PSNI has designed an analytical database to capture all this information in a victim-centred way. Families will sit at the very heart of their investigations. The primary objective will be to work with them to achieve a measure of resolution in these difficult cases.

InterTradeIreland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the religious composition is of the senior management in InterTradeIreland.

Angela Smith: The community background of the four members of the senior management of InterTradeIreland has been identified as Roman Catholic.

InterTradeIreland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff members in InterTradeIreland are from (a) Northern Ireland, (b) the Irish Republic and (c) neither Northern Ireland nor the Irish Republic.

Angela Smith: At 1 March 2006, InterTradeIreland employed 38 permanent staff. 35 staff have home addresses in Northern Ireland and three in the Republic of Ireland.

InterTradeIreland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the value for money provided by InterTradeIreland.

Angela Smith: Although InterTradeIreland has produced a number of well regarded, innovative all-island trade and business initiatives, there has been no recent value for money assessment of its performance. InterTradeIreland is however required to operate in accordance with a set of procedures contained in a Financial Memorandum approved by its Sponsor Departments and the Finance Departments North and South. Its business plan and associated costs are subject to scrutiny and approval on an annual basis and its annual accounts are examined and certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland and the Irish Comptroller and Auditor General.

InterTradeIreland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the community background is of the workforce of InterTradeIreland.

Angela Smith: At 1 March 2006, InterTradeIreland employed 38 permanent staff. The community backgrounds of these staff have been identified as follows:
	
		
			  Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Catholic 31 81 
			 Protestant 6 16 
			 Non-determined 1 3

InterTradeIreland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the community background is of the senior management team of InterTradeIreland.

Angela Smith: The community background of the four members of the senior management of InterTradeIreland has been identified as Roman Catholic.

InterTradeIreland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees of InterTradeIreland are citizens of the Republic of Ireland.

Angela Smith: Information on the citizenship of its employees is not held by InterTradeIreland. However, three staff have home addresses in the Republic of Ireland.

InterTradeIreland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the value of contracts awarded by InterTradeIreland to PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been since the establishment of the body.

Angela Smith: Since the establishment of the body in 1999 InterTradeIreland has awarded contracts to PriceWaterhouseCoopers to the value of 1.054 million.

InterTradeIreland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in how many years InterTradeIreland has spent less than its budgetary allocation from the Exchequer.

Angela Smith: InterTradeIreland has spent less than its initial budgetary allocation in each year since its formation. The level of underspend has decreased year-on-year.

InterTradeIreland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the ratio between overheads expenditure and project spending was in InterTradeIreland in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The ratio between overheads expenditure and programme spending by InterTradeIreland in 2005 was 1 to 2.3. Expenditure details have been taken from the 2005 draft accounts.

InterTradeIreland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the rate of usage by businesses of InterTradeIreland's Information Resource Centre.

Angela Smith: Since 2003 InterTradeIreland's Information Resource Centre has handled almost 800 inquiries from businesses, business organisations, researchers and academia.

InterTradeIreland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total expenditure of InterTradeIreland on events was in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The total expenditure by InterTradeIreland on events in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			  Expenditure () 
		
		
			 2001 82,837 
			 2002 679,520 
			 2003 755,351 
			 2004 984,812 
			 2005(22) 629,443 
		
	
	(22)Provisional figures from 2005 draft accounts.

Metro Bus Service (Belfast)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints were received during the first month of operation of the Metro bus service in Belfast.

Shaun Woodward: The information in the form requested is not readily available. However, Translink has informed me that in the first five weeks of operation (7 February 2005 to 14 March 2005) it received a total of 404 complaints relating to Metro.

Nursing Training

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students (a) entered nursing training and (b) successfully completed nursing training in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; and how many of those subsequently entered the professional register.

Shaun Woodward: The number of students who commenced pre-registration nurse training and successfully completed this training in each of the last 10 years is detailed as follows. Information on the number of nurses entering the professional register each year is not held in the Department, this is the responsibility of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
	
		The number of pre-registration nursing students who commenced training in each of the last 10 years
		
			 l April to 31 March Number commencing training 
		
		
			 199697 711 
			 199798 749 
			 199899 617 
			 19992000 562 
			 200001 614 
			 200102 856 
			 200203 770 
			 200304 864 
			 200405 826 
			 200506 828 
		
	
	
		The number of pre-registration nursing students who completed training in each of the last 10 years
		
			 1 April to 31 March Number 
		
		
			 199596 827 
			 199697 626 
			 199798 716 
			 199899 599 
			 19992000 612 
			 200001 508 
			 200102 454 
			 200203 449 
			 200304 490 
			 200405 713

PEACE Funding

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the number of jobs likely to be affected by the end of PEACE funding; and what steps each Department is taking to ensure that work and services provided through PEACE funding can be sustained in the long-term.

Angela Smith: Many projects will end naturally in line with original plans. For all projects it was a condition of their assistance that they would sustain their activities when PEACE funding ended.
	The European Council agreed in December 2005 to allocate a further 200 million to the EU PEACE Programme for 2007 to 2013 and the funding would not end until that time. For Northern Ireland the annual amount available will, however, be approximately half current levels. How this will be allocated will only be determined after a consultation process later this year and it is not yet possible to say what activities will not continue and to estimate precisely the impact.
	The primary purpose of PEACE funding is to promote peace and reconciliation outcomes and not solely the creation or maintenance of job opportunities where different sectors will be affected differently by any reductions in expenditure levels. Employment in successful private sector and social economy enterprises will continue. For the voluntary and community sector it is estimated that EU funding currently supports an estimated 1,500 jobs and at half annual funding levels this would suggest that up to 750 of these could be at potential risk. Any expenditure areas that are brought within mainstream expenditure will mitigate this. For example employment in children's projects is, following the recent announcement of the Children's and Young Peoples funding package, ensured until March 2008.

Pupil Injuries (Compensation)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid in Northern Ireland in compensation claims for injuries received by (a) pupils, (i) on school field trips and (ii) while at school and (b) teachers as a result of (A) assault and (B) accident while on duty in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: I have been advised that the information requested is as follows.
	
		
		
			  200102 200203 200304 200405 200506 
		
		
			 Pupils  
			 Field trip 1,618 15,614 10,851 153,057 0 
			 Injuries at school 369,945 182,008 363,422 289,509 221,726 
			   
			 Teachers  
			 Assault 0 0 3,000 0 5,000 
			 Accident on duty 47,003 78,488 10,767 29,153 104,023

Special Educational Needs

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils in Northern Ireland (i) have special educational needs and (ii) are eligible for free school meals; and what the equivalent figures are for the 100 (A) best and (B) worst performing (1) primary and (2) secondary schools.

Angela Smith: The requested information (200405) is as follows:
	
		Percentages of pupils with special educational needs and eligible for free school meals: all schools -- Percentage
		
			  Primary schools Post primary schools 
		
		
			 Pupils with special educational needs 18 10 
			 Pupils eligible for free school meals 20 20 
		
	
	
		Percentages of pupils with special educational needs and eligible for free school meals: top performing 100 schools -- Percentage
		
			  Primary schools Post primary schools 
		
		
			 Pupils with special educational needs 14 5 
			 Pupils eligible for free school meals 10 10 
		
	
	
		Percentages of pupils with special educational needs and eligible for free school meals: lowest performing 100 schools -- Percentage
		
			  Primary schools Post primary schools 
		
		
			 Pupils with special educational needs 27 16 
			 Pupils eligible for free school meals 41 32 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures relate to post primary pupils and pupils in nursery, reception and year 1year 7 classes in primary schools.
	2.Top and lowest 100 performing schools were identified by ranking the percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 and above and Level 5 in Key Stage 2 assessments for primary schools, and by ranking the percentage of year 12 pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*C for post primary schools.
	For nursery class pupils, pupils with a parent in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or income support was used as a proxy for free school meal entitlement.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

1911 Census

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2006 to Question 49704 how, and in what form, the assurances to which she refers in her answer were given.

Harriet Harman: The 1911 census forms for England and Wales included the following assurance to householders:
	'The contents of the Schedule will be treated as confidential. Strict care will be taken that no information is disclosed with regard to individual persons. The returns are not to be used for proof of age, as in connection with old age pensions, or for any other purpose than the preparation of statistical tables'.

Hague Convention 1996

John Stanley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which countries have (a) signed and ratified and (b) only signed the Hague Convention of 1996 on the International Protection of Children.

Harriet Harman: My hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton), the then Minister, signed the Convention on behalf of the UK on 1 April 2003. The full details of signatures, ratifications and accessions are set out as follows. Up-to-date information is on the Hague Conference website at http://www.hcch.net.
	The following signed and ratified:
	Australia;
	Czech Republic;
	Hungary;
	Latvia;
	Monaco;
	Morocco;
	Slovakia;
	Slovenia.
	The following signed:
	Austria;
	Belgium;
	Cyprus;
	Denmark;
	Finland;
	France;
	Germany;
	Greece;
	Ireland;
	Italy;
	Luxembourg;
	Netherlands;
	Poland;
	Portugal;
	Spain;
	Sweden;
	Switzerland;
	UK.
	The following acceded:
	Bulgaria;
	Ecuador;
	Estonia;
	Lithuania.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Action for Southern Africa Sanitary Appeal

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding has been allocated to the Action for Southern Africa Sanitary Appeal.

Hilary Benn: DFID has not provided funding specifically to the Action for Southern Africa Sanitary Appeal. DFID has, however, provided funds to the International Organisation for Migration to assist the most poor and vulnerable households displaced as a result of the Government of Zimbabwe's urban clean-up operations and land reform programme. Sanitary products are included in the pack of non-food items which to date have been distributed to nearly 12,000 families, many of whom are affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis in the country.
	In the last year, our top priorities have been to address the HIV and AIDS crisis, which is causing over 3,000 deaths every week; to support orphans and vulnerable children, now numbering over 10 per cent. of the total population; and to ensure that poor people across the country avoid serious food shortages. We expect these to remain our priorities in the coming year, with a planned expenditure of approximately 30 million channelled through UN Agencies and non-governmental organisations.

Action for Southern Africa Sanitary Appeal

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact of a lack of female sanitary products on growth in developing countries via effects on female economic productivity; and what steps he plans take to tackle this problem;
	(2)  what steps the Government are taking to tackle rising vaginal infections in developing countries due to a lack of female sanitary products;
	(3)  what aid is given for the supply of female sanitary products in developing countries.

Hilary Benn: The low availability and high cost of purpose-made female sanitary products for menstrual protection means that they are generally not used by poor women and girls in developing countries. In general, strips of old cloth are used to provide protection during menstruation. Critically, to ensure hygiene, comfort and to lessen vulnerability to reproductive tract infections these cloths must be clean and dry. However, a lack of basic infrastructure such as toilets and clean water combined with social taboos means that it is often difficult and embarrassing to wash and dry these cloths. Women and girls also face problems bathing due to lack of facilities that provide privacy. Consequently damp or even dirty rags are re-used.
	All people deserve the dignity of decent and private sanitation near their home. However, 2.6 billion people do not have it. DFID is working to increase poor people'saccess to clean water and basic sanitation and infrastructure.
	Adolescent girls also get inadequate preparation for the changes they face in puberty, including issues around menstrual health and hygiene. The silence around these discussions with young girls is linked to taboos around female sexuality. This is why DFID is supporting work in adolescent sexual and reproductive health. This includes fostering life skills that enable young girls and boys to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and to adopt healthy behaviours that enable them to avoid reproductive track, sexually transmitted infections (including HIV) and unintended pregnancy.
	DFID has not made an assessment of the impact of a lack of female sanitary products on economic growth and productivity. We are fully committed to working in ways that enable girls and women to reach their full potential. Investment in sexual and reproductive health is cost-effective. As well as direct health gains, better access to services can enable completion of education and access to economic opportunities by women and girls. This has immediate and longer term payoffs.

Central African Republic

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of (a) food shortages and (b) the number of internally displaced persons in the Central African Republic; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Recent conflict has caused an estimated 35,000 to 50,000 people to flee their homes in North Western parts of the Central African Republic (CAR). It has not yet been possible for any agency to conduct a full nutritional survey due to instability, poor access and lack of local operational capacity, but one recent assessment found that at least 10,333 displaced people are in serious need. Medecins Sans Frontieres-Holland is making medical surveys.
	DFID is providing 300,000 (a quarter of the estimated requirement) towards the World Food Programme's (WHO) pipeline, which has been revised to feed up to 50,000 people for three months. The WFP has started providing food to the most vulnerable through partners already based in the area such as the Red Cross and Caritas. DFID is in contact with the main agencies to keep needs under review. Should additional specific nutritional interventions be required, we shall respond urgently.
	There is also an existing caseload of some 46,000 CAR nationals in camps in Chad that we are supporting through separate funding to the WFP and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Contracts (Voluntary Sector)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many contracts are let by his Department to voluntary sector organisations; how many of those are let on an annual basis; and how many of those had received finalised contracts for 200607 by 31 March.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development has three current contracts with voluntary sector organisations: two were awarded in 2002 and the other in 2005. DFID does not let contracts on an annual basis and contract duration is specified in each case. The total does not include lower-value contracts let by DFID's overseas offices, of which we do not keep a central record; this information could not be obtained without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	These contracts do not include the considerable activity by NGOs which DFID funds directly through our Civil Society Challenge Fund, Partnership Programme Agreements, Humanitarian Assistance and in country through our country programmes.

East Africa Drought

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of drought in the (a) Somali region and (b) Borena zone of Oromiya region of Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The humanitarian situation in the worst affected areas of the Somali region (Afder, Gode and Liban zones) was re-assessed by missions which took place from 28 March to 12 April. Preliminary findings indicate that more people are in need and that more non-food help is needed. Nutritional screening also indicated a high level of malnutrition. Humanitarian agencies are continuing with a blanket supplementary feeding programme until targeted supplementary feeding is fully operational.
	A similar reassessment in the Borena zone of the Oromiya region has recommended that the number of people in need has increased from 155,000 to 220,000. Blanket supplementary feeding continues and a nutrition survey is planned for May.
	To date, US$37.5 million has been contributed in response to the joint Government of Ethiopia/United Nations appeal for US$111 million for non-food assistance. DFID allocated 4 million to the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and 1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Most of the non-food needs included in the appeal would be best addressed through long-term development. DFID is working with the Government and other donors, including the European Commission, OCHA and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to find other ways of assisting in the meantime.
	The next full assessment of all pastoral areas including the worst affected areas of the Somali region and the Borena zone of the Oromiya region is scheduled for June, following the April-June rainfall season. DFID will follow the situation closely and respond to identified humanitarian needs accordingly.

Fledgling Democracies

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of UK development aid was provided (a) bilaterally and (b) multilaterally to ensure better and more transparent government in fledgling democracies in 200506.

Gareth Thomas: DFID provides bilateral and multilateral assistance towards developing countries on the basis of their need and their ability to use aid effectively. Many of these countries are moving towards democracy and our assistance supports their state building efforts.
	DFID tracks its bilateral expenditure towards developing countries by monitoring expenditure against specific sector objectives, one of which is improved governance. This includes different aspects of state building and the encouragement of better and more transparent government.
	DFID's bilateral expenditure on programmes which include governance amongst their objectives was 347 million in 200506 or 13 per cent. of a total bilateral spend of 2.5 billion. Examples of this expenditure include 3,600,000 support to civic education for the Afghan National Assembly and Provincial Council elections, and 2,555,444 to support building the capacity of Iraqi media by establishing a broadcasting station for provinces in Southern Iraq. UK development aid is also used to support public service reform programmes. An example of this funding in 200506 was 8,500,000 provided to enhance the commitment, capability, accountability and transparency of the public service in Tanzania.
	DFID provides funding to a number of multilaterals and this is pooled with other donors. In many cases these institutions support a range of activities, including governance. The UK share of this is not tracked.

International Planned Parenthood Federation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what monitoring his Department has carried out on how the International Planned Parenthood Federation spent the funds provided by his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID provides funding to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) for its work to promote reproductive health. The IPPF produces an annual report and audited accounts which are used by DFID for monitoring purposes. DFID also attends the IPPF's annual donor consultation meeting to consider issues such as performance and effectiveness.
	In 2003, DFID co-sponsored with other IPPF donors, an evaluation of the Federation's work to promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health. It confirmed the important role of the IPPF in promoting adolescent reproductive health and that the development goal of combating HIV and AIDS would only be achieved through the increased involvement of adolescents and young people. It emphasised that although progress had been made, much remains to be done to respond to the reproductive health and rights needs of adolescents and young people, and there was a need for increased support by the international community.
	We are currently planning with the governments of Sweden and Norway, another evaluation of the IPPF's work at country level.

World Conference on Women

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action his Department has taken in response to the Report of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, which took place in Beijing in September 1995, concluded with adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Government fully supports implementation of the Platform for Action which we see as hugely significant in taking forward the global agenda on gender equality and as essential for making greater progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs.) We welcomed the re-affirmation of the key importance of the Declaration and Platform for Action, including the clear linkage with achievement of the MDGs at the Beijing Plus 10 conference, the Millennium Review Summit, and most recently at the meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women in March.
	DFID's strategy for promoting gender equality is set out in the document Poverty Elimination and the Empowerment of Women, and we are working to ensure that gender issues are made a priority across our work, and that developing country partners integrate gender into their own national plans. DFID also supports specific activities to promote the rights of women and girls, including in the areas of girls' education, maternal mortality and reproductive health. DFID is one of the three Government Departments responsible for the UK National Action Plan on implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which was launched on International Women's Day 2006 on 8 March.
	Over the next year, we will be looking to see how we can strengthen this work in response to an evaluation of our work on gender and women's empowerment over the past ten years and to current trends in the delivery of international development assistance.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Places of Worship (Listed Buildings)

Tony Baldry: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what estimate the Commissioners have made of the amount required to maintain and repair listed places of worship in England; and what discussions they have had with English Heritage and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on this issue.

Stuart Bell: In 2003, around 101 million was spent on major repairs to churches (a substantial proportion of them listed) and a further 11 million on Church of England Cathedrals. We are working with English Heritage to identify the areas in greatest need of assistance with repair costs; the results of this exercise will inform our discussions with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about better State funding arrangements.

Investments

David Davies: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what steps the Commissioners take to ensure they obtain the best possible return on the investment portfolios which they are responsible for managing.

Stuart Bell: In the first instance, Her Majesty appoints a Second Church Estates Commissioner.
	In the second instance, the aim is to achieve the best possible long-term returns by investing in assets such as equities and property, which generally offer higher long-term returns than bonds and cash deposits. There is a wide spread of assets in the UK and overseas.

Octavia Hill Estate

Simon Hughes: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what sale price was agreed for the Octavia Hill Estate in South London.

Stuart Bell: The Church Commissioners received 166.967 million for the sale of the properties to Grainger Geninvest on 20th March 2006

Pipe Organs

Steve Webb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what representations the Commissioners have made to the Department of Trade and Industry on the potential impact of forthcoming EU regulations affecting the replacement of pipe organs.

Stuart Bell: The Churches Main Committee (the body representing the Christian Churches and the Jewish community in their dealings with Government) have written to express our concerns over the possible adverse impact of on church and cathedral pipe organs of the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2005, due to come into force on 1 July 2006.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House if he will list (a) the websites operated by his Office and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

Geoff Hoon: The website www.CommonsLeader.gov.uk is operated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and managed by the private office staff.
	The Office has not published any reports.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Independent Broadcasting

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government are taking to ensure a continued public service commitment in the independent broadcasting sector.

Tessa Jowell: The Government are committed to maintaining strong Public Service Broadcasting provision from both the BBC and other public service broadcasters. That is why, through the Communications Act, we placed on Ofcom a specific duty relating to public service television broadcasting and an obligation to undertake periodic reviews with a view to maintaining and strengthening the quality of public service television broadcasting in the United Kingdom.

Tote

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her plans to privatise the Tote.

Richard Caborn: The Government's objective remains to sell the Tote to a racing trust.
	We continue to work closely with the Tote, the Racing Trust and the European Commission to achieve this objective.

Peepul Centre (Leicester)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on support by the Millennium Commission for the Peepul Centre in Leicester.

David Lammy: Detailed issues relating to Millennium Commission funding of the Peepul Centre in Leicester are primarily a matter for the Commission and I will therefore ask my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Sport, in his capacity as Chair of the Commission, to write to my hon. Friend and arrange for copies of his reply to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Visitor Attractions

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department is giving to visitor attractions in the UK.

James Purnell: My Department works closely in support of the attractions sector which attract nearly 500 million visits a year. Visitor attractions are key to British tourism and will be fully reflected in the upcoming DCMS Tourism 2012 Strategy consultation document, which will be issued shortly.

Sport Participation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to increase participation in sport.

Richard Caborn: The Department is committed to its public service agreement target of increasing levels of participation in sport by priority groups by 3 per cent. by 2008. Working through Sport England, we are implementing a range of measures to achieve this.

BBC

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to be in a position to bring forward a Bill providing for the proposed increase in the BBC's licence fee and the length of the next BBC charter.

James Purnell: Neither of these issues will be subject to a Bill. TV licence fees are set in regulations laid before both Houses of Parliament and are subject to negative resolution procedure. The Government are currently conducting a funding review to determine the future level of the licence fee to apply from April 2007. An announcement will be made in due course. As set out in the White Paper, A public service for all: the BBC in the digital age, the BBC will continue to be constituted by Royal Charter. The new Royal Charter will run for a period of 10 years until 31 December 2016.

BBC

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to publish the analysis by consultants Pannell Kerr Forster of the BBC's licence fee; and if she will ensure that the publication date provides adequate time to enable interested parties to express views on the proposals before the level of the licence fee is determined.

Tessa Jowell: We intend to publish PKF's findings subject only to proper consideration of commercial confidentiality and in advance of the seminar on 5 May.

Contracts (Voluntary Sector)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many contracts are let by her Department to voluntary sector organisations; how many of those are let on an annual basis; and how many of those had received finalised contracts for 200607 by 31 March.

David Lammy: DCMS has one contract within the voluntary sector and this is with YMCA. This is a three-year contract which expires in October 2007.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will reply to the letter of 30 January from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire about Stanbrook Abbey (Reference 34865).

David Lammy: I wrote to the hon. Member on 20 April 2006.

Departmental Televisions

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many television sets are in operation in the Department (a) in total, (b) in Minister's private offices and (c) in each office building in the Department; and how many television licences are held by the Department.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has television sets in operation as follows;
	(a) 34 in total;
	(b) Eight in Ministerial Private Offices at Cockspur Street, including three parliamentary annunciators;
	(c) 29 at 24 Cockspur Street, two at Grove House, two at Queen's Yard and one at Blandford Street.
	Each building holds a television licence that covers one or more sets.

Digital Television (Dundee)

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects digital television to be available to every household in Dundee.

James Purnell: The vast majority of households can, with the appropriate equipment, receive digital TV services via either digital satellite, digital terrestrial or cable.
	Currently around three quarters of households in my hon. Friend's constituency are thought to be able to receive Freeview. Digital switchover in Dundee will happen in 2010, which will enable digital terrestrial coverage to match the current 98.5 per cent. analogue level.

Gambling

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact on problem gambling of new casinos established under the Gambling Act 2005.

Richard Caborn: No premises licences for the three categories of new casino permitted by the Gambling Act 2005 have yet been issued, and we do not expect the competitions for these premises licences to begin until mid-2007 at the earliest. Our intention is to ask the Gambling Commission to make an assessment of the impact of the introduction of these categories of new casino no earlier than three years after the award of the first premises licence. As part of this work, the Commission will assess the impact of the new types of casino on problem gambling.

Licensing

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many new licences have been granted in (a) Richmond upon-Thames and (b) Kingston-upon-Thames under the Licensing Act 2003; and what percentage were 24 hour licences.

James Purnell: This information is not held centrally.

Millennium Dome

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost has been of the Millennium Dome to public funds in each year since its inception.

Richard Caborn: The information is as follows.
	(1) Grants from National Lottery funds were made by the Millennium Commission to the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) as follows.
	
		
			  Grant () 
		
		
			 199798 449 
			 199899 nil 
			 19992000 60 
			 200001 119 
			 200102 nil 
			 200203 nil 
			 200304 nil 
			 200405 (23)nil 
			 200506 (24)nil 
		
	
	(23)24 million (unrequired funds decommitted from NMEC by the Millennium Commission for use on other projects)
	(24)1 million (unrequired funds decommitted from NMEC by the Millennium Commission for use on other projects)
	(2) In addition, English Partnerships has been meeting management, maintenance, security and other costs at the site from 1 July 2001, and will continue to do so until the redevelopment of the arena by the Anschutz Entertainment Group is completed, expected in summer 2007, at which time Anschutz takes on full responsibility for the Dome structure and its immediate surroundings.
	All of English Partnerships' costs (gross total of around 32 million to date) from July 2001 to the completion of the arena's construction, and including the costs of the entire sale process, are expected to be recovered from sale proceeds, forecast at 550 million over the period of the deal, which lasts for around another 19 years.
	The year by year English Partnerships' maintenance and other costs to date have been as follows:
	
		
			  Maintenance and other costs () 
		
		
			 200102: 2.299 
			 200203: 2.952 
			 200304: 2.586 
			 200405: 1.726 
			 200506: (25)0.364 
			 Total 9.927 
		
	
	(25)To end February 2006.
	In addition, English Partnerships spent 6.7 million on decommissioning some of the Dome's contents, 0.558 million on a one off payment for insurance and 14.5 million on the sale process between March 1999 and June 2004.

Music Industry

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what definition her Department uses of the music industry; under what legislation the music industry is regulated; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: The Department works with all businesses and activities which regard themselves part of the music industry. This includes recording, composition and publishing, instrument manufacture, production services, managers, agents and promoters and artists and performers. This work feeds into our support for music as part of our cultural objectives. We do not use an exclusive definition of this industry and there is no specific legislation under which the industry is regulated.

Queen's Birthday

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking abroad to encourage foreign tourism for the Queen's 80th birthday celebration.

James Purnell: My Department funds the work of VisitBritain in promoting tourism, to both the domestic and international markets, which includes Royal Events.
	The events marking the 80th birthday of the Queen have been promoted to the international media by VisitBritain and direct by their press officers overseas. This activity is aimed to encourage more foreign tourists to visit the UK during the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations.

Royal Ballet

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what direct funding the Royal Ballet received from (a) central Government and (b) Government agencies in 200506; and how much such funding is planned for 200607.

David Lammy: The Royal Ballet does not receive funding from central Government. DCMS sponsors Arts Council England to promote and invest in the arts, including dance.
	The Royal Ballet is part of the Royal Opera House (ROH) and therefore receives funding through the Arts Council's subsidy to the ROH which is as follows:
	
		
			  Subsidy () 
		
		
			 200506 24,866,154 
			 200607 25,550,000 
			 200708 26,252,600 
		
	
	The Arts Council does not direct the ROH management as to how they should allocate their funding across the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera as well as the additional strands of work the ROH undertakes. Therefore a specific figure for the amount of Arts Council funding to the Royal Ballet Company is not available.

Royal Ballet

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding the Royal Ballet has received from (a) central Government and (b) Government agencies to take the company abroad on tour in each of the last eight years.

David Lammy: The Arts Council does not direct the ROH management as to how they should allocate their funding across the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera, as well as the additional strands of work the ROH undertakes. Therefore, a specific figure for the Royal Ballet Company's funding for their touring is not available.

Television Advertising

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times (a) ITV and (b) Channel 4 have exceeded agreed limits for the quantity and length of advertisement breaks on television in each of the last eight years.

James Purnell: The matters raised are principally the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Warships

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on the ownership of the warships which were previously in the ownership of the Warship Preservation Trust Ltd.

David Lammy: Following the liquidation of The Warship Preservation Trust Ltd. in February 2006 and the subsequent disclaimer of the ships both by the Liquidator and the Treasury Solicitor (in her capacity as the Crown's Nominee for dealing with bona vacantia), the ships are now effectively ownerless and fall under the control of The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, in whose possession they are. It will be for the company to decide how to deal with them. The National Historic Ships Unit of the Advisory Committee on National Historic Ships is in direct and regular contact with The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, and is advising them on policy with regard to a long-term solution. The Department is monitoring the situation.

Water Safety

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the outcomes were of the recent meeting of the Water Safety Forum, with particular reference to adult to children supervision ratios in swimming pools.

Richard Caborn: The issue of guidance relating to child admission and parental supervision in public swimming pools has been considered by the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF) at recent meetings.
	The NWSF's investigations are ongoing and researchers are consulting with pool users and parents before final conclusions can be drawn.
	However, the work to date has suggested that any guidance issued and followed by pool operators needs to be done on a site specific basis and supported by a site specific risk assessment before any admission ratios are set.

Departmental Policies

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to west Lancashire constituency the effects in west Lancashire of changes to her Department's policies since 1997.

David Lammy: The Department's policies and actions have had a significant impact on west Lancashire since 2 May 1997. Our aim is to improve the quality of life for everyone through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries. Here is a non-exhaustive outline of the effects on the constituency.
	In sport, over 3 billion has been invested from the lottery and Exchequer since 1997 to help us achieve our vision of an active and successful sporting nation. We have put in place the first ever comprehensive national school sport strategy which will have benefited from 1.5 billion of joint investment from DCMS and DFES by 2008. To help achieve our challenging targets for increased participation in sport and physical activity, we have invested heavily in our local and community sporting infrastructure, including thousands of new and refurbished public sports facilities. In west Lancashire, sports facilities have benefited from nine Sport England lottery grants totalling 2,347,120.
	In addition, west Lancashire has received 192,501 from Awards for All, supporting 51 projects benefiting sport. The Glenburn School Sport Partnership, comprising four local secondary schools and 31 primary schools, has also received 185,063, and an award to the value of 674,259 for September 2005 to August 2008.
	In the arts sector we have increased national funding, in real terms, by 60 per cent. from 199 million in 199899 to 367 million in 200405. Between 199899 and 200304 Arts Council England investment in the north west region, through Exchequer funding, increased from 7.6 million to 19.6 million, with a total investment of 34.8 million in 200506 (200506 includes lottery figures). West Lancashire has benefited from grants to arts projects, organisations and individuals, including 17,000 to the Chapel Gallery's education and outreach programme; and 5,000 to Open Arts, based in Skelmersdale.
	In the museum sector we have supported the leading north west museum services through the Renaissance in the Regions Programme, that will invest 1.7 million regionally in 200607. West Lancashire also benefits from its geographical proximity to National Museums Liverpool and the free access for all visitors that is on offer.
	In heritage, English Heritage offered grants worth 257,555 to a combination of St Thomas the Martyr, Upholland; St John the Baptist, Burscough; Scarisbrick Hall, Ormskirk; and St Michael and All Angels, Dalton, Skelmersdale. In addition English Heritage also gave 75,000 to a Heritage economic regeneration scheme in Ormskirk.
	In libraries, in common with all those in the United Kingdom, the public library branches in west Lancashire are connected to the internet through the People's Network which was funded through a 120 million lottery grant and which has put all the United Kingdom's public libraries on-line. In addition, the Department is funding the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council with 5 million over three years to implement the Framework for the Future Action Plan and Library Improvement Programme, which is designed to encourage overall improvement across the public libraries sector in England.
	In broadcasting, through our commitment to public service broadcasting we have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high quality original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners, including those in west Lancashire. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and Channel 4, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. The Communications Act 2003 includes provisions to ensure that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future.
	Furthermore, in November 2000 we introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over. Precise information on the number of beneficiaries by constituency is not available, although as an indicator, according to Department for Work and Pensions records, the number of households in the west Lancashire constituency with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in 20045 was 4,975.
	In the creative industries, since 2004 funding has been given to help finance film projects in Ormskirk, Parbold and Merebrow, enabling the production of short films, screenings and digitisation projects, and travel bursaries to international film festivals for sales opportunities. The awards have been in excess of 4,500.
	In tourism, west Lancashire has benefited from Government-funded marketing activity. In April 2003 we established VisitBritain with a new domestic marketing remit for England, and we gave strategic responsibility for tourism development to the Regional Development Agencies, including the North West RDA. These changes, together with VisitBritain's successful marketing activities in promoting Britain abroad as an attractive tourist destination, benefit all parts of the country, including west Lancashire.
	The Government have also implemented the Licensing Act 2003, the biggest overhaul in licensing law for 40 years. It contains vital measures in the battle against alcohol related crime and disorder while allowing the majority of responsible adults the freedom to enjoy their leisure time. It gives police and local authorities the power to take tougher action against under-age drinking, antisocial behaviour, and to protect residents whose lives have been blighted by disturbance and noise. It will also provide greater choice for consumers, bring regeneration, and increased employment opportunities.
	The Gambling Act 2005 will, when implemented, transfer responsibility for licensing gambling premises to local licensing authorities. Local people and businesses will be able to make representations about applications for licences and local licensing authorities will be able to decide not to issue licences for casino premises. These changes will give local communities, including those in west Lancashire, a greater say in the regulation of gambling in their area.
	Finally, information from the national lottery distributors indicates that since 2 May 1997 west Lancashire has benefited from over 246 awards totalling over 7.9 million.

Wilberforce 2007 (Hull)

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what central Government support there will be for the Wilberforce 2007 commemoration in Hull.

David Lammy: Next year is an important opportunity to mark the 200th anniversary of Parliament's abolition of the Slave Trade in the British Empire and I know that Hull's plans are already well advanced. Hull is a key member of the Deputy Prime Minister's Advisory Group on 2007. I am pleased that Hull Museums are a partner in the Understanding Slavery Initiative, sharing 750,000 of DCMS and DfES funding to encourage more informed and effective teaching about slavery in the classroom. To support the preparations the Wilberforce House Museum has recently benefited from a 800,000 award from the Heritage Lottery Fund and 202,400 from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums Improvement Fund.

WORK AND PENSIONS

A New Deal for Welfare

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the consultation deadline for the Green Paper A New Deal for Welfare is being extended to take account of the fact that it was not available in accessible format for disabled people until 28 February; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Disability Discrimination Act requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people can access their services. In line with this requirement, where individuals and organisations need more time to take part in the consultation, we will extend the deadline of 21 April to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to respond. We will continue to provide support to enable people to complete their response within the deadline.

Adult Disadvantages

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the letter of 19 July 2004 from the hon. Member for Croydon, North to the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs, if he will recalculate the figures on adult disadvantages to include retirement on 31 December 2004 and 31 December 2005.

Stephen Timms: The information for 2005 is not currently available. The calculations referred to are based on figures published by UBS Global Asset Management. Figures for 2005 are expected to be published in June. Figures for 2004 are presented in the table.
	Since 2004 we have improved the methodology used to calculate these figures. The previous methodology overstated the decline in pension incomes since the early 1990s.
	The principal change to the methodology has been to use actual earnings growth data as opposed to using average earnings growth for the entire period between 1963 and 2004. The previous methodology had the effect of overstating investment returns and contribution growth during periods of high inflation and understating them in periods of low inflation.
	As the trend in inflation has been steadily downwards since the 1970s the previous methodology introduced a bias towards those with the biggest pension pots in the 1970s, who are those retiring earliest in the data series. It also failed to show the result of the late 1990s boom in equity returns that hid the increase in longevity and consequential fall in annuity rates that can be clearly seen in these tables.
	The other change in methodology has been to make the hypothetical individual on whom calculations are based more typical.
	
		Table 1: pension entitlement assuming the fund is wholly in equities throughout the investment period (100 per cent. equities)
		
			 Year started contributing Retire at end of year Total years of contribution Lump sum built up () Annuity rate in retirement year (percentage) Weekly pension at retirement () 
		
		
			 1964 1994 31 69,017 11 .6 153 
			 1965 1995 31 78,860 11 .3 171 
			 1966 1996 31 82,797 11 .0 175 
			 1967 1997 31 93,624 10.4 187 
			 1968 1998 31 100,623 9.4 181 
			 1969 1999 31 117,617 8.9 201 
			 1970 2000 31 102,767 9.1 179 
			 1971 2001 31 82,036 8.9 140 
			 1972 2002 31 57,991 7.5 83 
			 1973 2003 31 66,096 7.4 94 
			 1974 2004 31 68,395 7.3 96 
		
	
	
		Table 2: pension entitlement assuming the fund is wholly in bonds throughout the investment period (100 per cent. bonds)
		
			 Year started contributing Retire at end of year Total years of contribution Lump sum built up () Annuity rate in retirement year (percentage) Weekly pension at retirement () 
		
		
			 1964 1994 31 37,595 11.6 84 
			 1965 1995 31 42,867 11.3 93 
			 1966 1996 31 43,134 11.0 91 
			 1967 1997 31 48,622 10.4 97 
			 1968 1998 31 57,585 9.4 104 
			 1969 1999 31 53,660 8.9 92 
			 1970 2000 31 54,901 9.1 96 
			 1971 2001 31 51,694 8.9 88 
			 1972 2002 31 53,516 7.5 77 
			 1973 2003 31 51,699 7.4 73 
			 1974 2004 31 53,285 7.3 75 
		
	
	
		Table 3: pension entitlement assuming the fund is half in bonds and half in equities throughout the investment period (5050 split)
		
			 Year started contributing Retire at end of year Total years of contribution Lump sum built up () Annuity rate in retirement year (percentage) Weekly pension at retirement () 
		
		
			 1964 1994 31 52,416 11.6 117 
			 1965 1995 31 59,697 11.3 129 
			 1966 1996 31 61,236 11.0 129 
			 1967 1997 31 69,016 10.4 138 
			 1968 1998 31 77,716 9.4 140 
			 1969 1999 31 81,425 8.9 139 
			 1970 2000 31 76,914 9.1 134 
			 1971 2001 31 66,647 8.9 114 
			 1972 2002 31 57,828 7.5 83 
			 1973 2003 31 60,696 7.4 86 
			 1974 2004 31 62,445 7.3 87 
		
	
	
		Table 4: pension entitlement assuming the fund starts wholly in equities, then switches wholly to bonds five years before retirement (five year immediate switch)
		
			 Year started contributing Retire at end of year Total years of contribution Lump sum built up () Annuity rate in retirement year (percentage) Weekly pension at retirement () 
		
		
			 1964 1994 31 76,912 11.6 171 
			 1965 1995 31 71,406 11.3 155 
			 1966 1996 31 71,036 11.0 150 
			 1967 1997 31 76,195 10.4 152 
			 1968 1998 31 89,125 9.4 161 
			 1969 1999 31 85,827 8.9 146 
			 1970 2000 31 89,154 9.1 155 
			 1971 2001 31 88,040 8.9 150 
			 1972 2002 31 93,043 7.5 134 
			 1973 2003 31 83,082 7.4 118 
			 1974 2004 31 104,903 7.3 147 
		
	
	
		Table 5: pension entitlement assuming the fund starts wholly in equities, then switches away gradually from five years before retirement, until it is wholly in bonds at retirement (five year gradual switch)
		
			 Year started contributing Retire at end of year Total years of contribution Lump sum built up () Annuity rate in retirement year (percentage) Weekly pension at retirement () 
		
		
			 1964 1994 31 67,649 11.6 150 
			 1965 1995 31 72,924 11.3 158 
			 1966 1996 31 72,570 11.0 153 
			 1967 1997 31 81,434 10.4 162 
			 1968 1998 31 97,995 9.4 177 
			 1969 1999 31 92,272 8.9 157 
			 1970 2000 31 99,113 9.1 173 
			 1971 2001 31 94,038 8.9 160 
			 1972 2002 31 94,464 7.5 136 
			 1973 2003 31 82,698 7.4 117 
			 1974 2004 31 79,854 7.3 112 
		
	
	
		Table 6: pension entitlement assuming the fund starts wholly in equities, then switches away gradually from ten years before retirement, until it is wholly in bonds at retirement (10 year gradual switch)
		
			 Year started contributing Retire at end of year Total years of contribution Lump sum built up () Annuity rate in retirement year (percentage) Weekly pension at retirement () 
		
		
			 1964 1994 31 64,295 11.6 143 
			 1965 1995 31 72,679 11.3 157 
			 1966 1996 31 72,332 11.0 152 
			 1967 1997 31 79,913 10.4 159 
			 1968 1998 31 94,704 9.4 171 
			 1969 1999 31 88,218 8.9 150 
			 1970 2000 31 90,750 9.1 158 
			 1971 2001 31 85,769 8.9 146 
			 1972 2002 31 88,200 7.5 127 
			 1973 2003 31 82,474 7.4 117 
			 1974 2004 31 82,647 7.3 116 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Lump sums and weekly pensions are all in 2004 earnings terms.
	2.The tables above present results from a hypothetical analysis of pension fund investment. The model is based on the following assumptions and underlying data:
	A person contributes to a pension fund for 31 years (this is an individual pension fund as opposed to an occupational one). The investment generates returns for 30 years.
	Contributions are made at 5 per cent. of gross earnings.
	Individuals earn average earnings (22,000 in 2004 terms) for the entirety of their working life (Annual survey of hours and earnings, Office of National Statistics).
	Contributions are made annually at the end of each year.
	The return on equities is based on an average of UK equities (FTSE All-Share Index) and Overseas equities (Composite index for representative overseas markets, and FT/SP World Ex-UK Index from 1987). To be published in Pension Fund Indicators 2004, UBS Global Asset Management.
	The return on bonds/gilts is based on an average of UK bonds (FTA Over 15-year Index, and UBS 25-year index up to 1975) and Overseas bonds (JP Morgan Global Bond Index, ex UK). To be published in Pension Fund Indicators 2003, UBS Global Asset Management.
	1 per cent. of the value of the fund at the end of each year is deducted from the fund, in order to account for charging/fees.
	Upon retirement at the end of the final year of investment, an annuity is purchased at a prevailing market rate. The annuity rates are as at December each year, for a level annuity (for 100,000), male aged 65, single life, guaranteed five years. These have been supplied by Annuity Direct.

Benefit Costs

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was in current prices of (a) income support, (b) incapacity benefit, (c) disability living allowance, (d) attendance allowance, (e) the social fund, (f) retirement pension, (g) the state second pension/state earnings-related pension scheme and (h) pension credit in each year since 199697; and what percentage of these costs was accounted for by administration in each year.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		Nominal (cash terms) Great Britain
		
			  Outturn 
			 Benefit expenditure ( million) 199697 199798 199899 19992000 200001 
		
		
			 Income support (under 60 years of age) 10,630 8,193 8,172 8,302 9,026 
			 Incapacity benefit 7,662 7,412 7,251 6,790 6,766 
			 Disability living allowance 4,498 4,953 5,316 5,660 6,044 
			 Attendance allowance 2,393 2,521 2,680 2,823 2,955 
			 Social fund 239 186 199 185 235 
			 Contributory retirement pension-basic 29,239 30,391 31,914 33,378 33,986 
			 Contributory retirement pension-earnings related 2,756 3,166 3,660 4,397 4,731 
			 Income support for people over 60/minimum income guarantee/pension credit 3,815 3,773 3,619 3,781 4,095 
		
	
	
		
			  Outturn Estimated outturn 
			 Benefit expenditure ( million) 200102 200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 Income support (under 60 years of age) 9,615 9,753 10,344 10,068 
			 Incapacity benefit 6,749 6,758 6,724 6,676 
			 Disability living allowance 6,580 7,052 7,582 8,078 
			 Attendance allowance 3,124 3,251 3,457 3,678 
			 Social fund 250 301 326 327 
			 Contributory retirement pension-basic 36,565 38,469 39,828 41,389 
			 Contributory retirement pension-earnings related 5,328 5,869 6,648 7,355 
			 Income support for people over 60/minimum income guarantee/pension credit 4,486 4,484 4,851 5,997 
		
	
	
		Real terms (200506 prices) Great Britain
		
			  Outturn 
			 Benefit expenditure ( million) 199697 199798 199899 19992000 200001 
		
		
			 Income support(under 60 years of age) 13,161 9,852 9,579 9,543 10,242 
			 Incapacity benefit 9,486 8,914 8,499 7,805 7,677 
			 Disability living allowance 5,569 5,957 6,231 6,506 6,858 
			 Attendance allowance 2,963 3,032 3,141 3,245 3,353 
			 Social fund 296 224 233 213 267 
			 Contributory retirement pension-basic 36,201 36,547 37,408 38,369 38,564 
			 Contributory retirement pension-earnings related 3,412 3,807 4,291 5,055 5,369 
			 Income support for people over 60/minimum income guarantee/pension credit 4,723 4,537 4,242 4,346 4,647 
		
	
	
		
			  Outturn Estimated outturn 
			 Benefit expenditure ( million) 200102 200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 Income support (under 60 years of age) 10,647 10,467 10,815 10,307 
			 Incapacity benefit 7,473 7,253 7,030 6,835 
			 Disability living allowance 7,286 7,568 7,927 8,270 
			 Attendance allowance 3,460 3,489 3,614 3,765 
			 Social fund 277 323 341 335 
			 Contributory retirement pension-basic 40,490 41,287 41,641 42,373 
			 Contributory retirement pension-earnings related 5,900 6,299 6,951 7,529 
			 Income support for people over 60/minimum income guarantee/pension credit 4,967 4,813 5,072 6,140 
		
	
	
		
			  Estimated 
			 Administration cost as a percentage of benefit expenditure (Great Britain) 199697 199798 199899 
		
		
			 Incapacity benefit 4.8 4.0 5.2 
			 Disability living allowance 3.3 3.3 2.2 
			 Attendance allowance 3.4 3.0 2.8 
			 Social fund 21.5 15.3 19.3 
			 Retirement pension 0.9 0.9 0.9 
			 Income support 7.2 6.0 4.9 
			 Income support unemployed only-6 months (replaced by jobseekers' allowance income based in October 1996) 8.8 0 0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Benefit expenditure figures are rounded to the nearest  million. The figures do not include administration expenditure.
	2.Administration percentages (of benefit expenditure only and not the sum of benefit expenditure and administration expenditure) been obtained from previously published departmental reports (see source). The social fund percentage is of expenditure and loan recoveries, whereas the social fund benefit expenditure figures shown in the tables are net of recoveries. The percentage of income support includes expenditure on the over 60's age group. The 199697 administration percentage of income support paid to the unemployed is shown separately. (Jobseeker's allowance-income based replaced income support paid to the unemployed in October 1996. Jobseeker's allowance-income based administration expenditure figures are not shown in the table).
	3.Information on the costs (and therefore percentages) of administering benefits from 19992000 onwards is not currently available in the format requested. In accordance with the requirements of Resource Accounting and Budgeting the Department now accounts for its administration and benefit expenditure by Strategic Objective, as set out in its public service agreements (PSA), and by individual Requests for Resources (RfRs), as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts.
	Sources:
	Table 3 DWP expenditure tables published on the internet at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp. All figures are consistent with the pre-Budget report (5 December 2005).
	Administration percentages are from Department for Social Security Departmental Reports, published in April 1998 (199697 figure), March 1999 (199798 figure) and April 2000 (199899 figure).

Capita Group

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have held with directors and senior executives of (i) Capita Group plc. and (ii) its subsidiaries since 1 January 2004; and whether (A) Capita Group plc. and (B) its subsidiaries have provided input (1) in writing and (2) in person to policy discussions in his Department since 1 January 2004.

Margaret Hodge: Capita Group plc has a large number of trading subsidiaries and this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Child Support

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents have avoided paying the correct amount of child support in (a) West Lancashire, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each year since 1980.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr.Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Hilary Reynolds
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently unavailable, Iam responding on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parents have avoided paying the correct amount of child support in (a) West Lancashire (b) Lancashire (c) the UK in each year since 1980.
	We cannot provide the information at the requested constituency or county level. Data has therefore only been provided at GB level.
	As the Agency only began to operate in 1993, information is not available prior to this point. Subsequent to 1993, data has been provided for the years in which it is available.
	There are a variety of ways in which a non-resident parent could potentially avoid paying the correct amount of child support. For example, an NRP could:
	Refuse to provide information about their income or circumstances.
	By refusing to provide this information they are preventing the Agency from performing a maintenance calculation/assessment and could thus be said to be avoiding paying the correct amount of child support. Where a parent consistently refuses to provide this information, the Agency may impose an Interim Maintenance Assessment (IMA; old scheme) or a Default Maintenance Decision (DMD; new scheme). Information on the number of DMDs and IMAs imposed by the Agency is attached as Table 1.
	Under-declare their income and assets. Doing this may result in the establishment of a lower liability for child maintenance than should otherwise have applied, had the non-resident parent's (NRP) true income and assets been declared. In this case the parent with care (PWC) may then apply for a departure or variation (old and new rules respectively) from the standard formula, on the basis that the non- resident parent's lifestyle is inconsistent with the income they are declaring to the Agency. Limitations with management information means that the number of variations applied for is not available. However, the number of departures applied for is attached as Table 2.
	Failure to pay the full assessed amount of child maintenance. An NRP who does not pay the full maintenance liability due to them is clearly avoiding paying the correct amount of child support. The number of NRPs who do not pay the full liability for which they have been assessed is attached as Table 3.
	
		Table 1: Interim Maintenance Assessments and Default Maintenance Decisions applied for since 1997
		
			  Interim Maintenance Assessments (old scheme) Default Maintenance Decision (new scheme) 
			 November Number of cases Percentage of all cases with an assessment Number of cases Percentage of all cases with an assessment 
		
		
			 1997 78,000 11 n/a n/a 
			 1998 77,000 9 n/a n/a 
			 1999 76,000 8 n/a n/a 
			 2000 54,000 5 n/a n/a 
			 2001 47,000 4 n/a n/a 
			 2002 40,000 4 n/a n/a 
			 2003 u/a u/a 3,000 6 
			 2004 32,000 3 6,000 4 
			 2005 27,000 4 7,000 3 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Robust data is not available prior to 1997.
	2.Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand and percentages to the
	nearest whole percent.
	2.'n/a' indicates the period is not applicable.
	3.'u/a' indicates that data is unavailable due to limitations in management information.
	
		Table 2: Number of Departures applied for in each year since 19992000
		
			  Departures applied for 
		
		
			 19992000 20,000 
			 20002001 23,000 
			 20012002 21,000 
			 20022003 21,000 
			 20032004 13,000 
			 20042005 8,000 
			 20052006 (to Feb 2006) 9,000 
		
	
	Notes
	1.A departure can be applied for by either parent where it is felt that a maintenance assessment does not adequately reflect the circumstances of the NRP or PWC. Departures apply to old scheme cases only. The numbers presented therefore cover any circumstance where a departure has been applied for (as opposed to granted), and not just those where departures were applied for by the PWC.
	2.This table shows the number of departures applied for in each year since 1999/2000. Robust figures are not available for periods of time before 1999.
	3.Numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
	
		Table 3: Non resident parents in Great Britain who paid the full amount of maintenance, as a proportion of those charged via the Agency's collection service
		
			  Percentage of non-resident parents who paid the full amount of maintenance (Overall Agency) 
			 Quarter ending Old scheme old system New and old scheme 
		
		
			 November 1995 27  
			 November 1996 36  
			 November 1997 44  
			 November 1998 45  
			 November 1999 47  
			 November 2000 49  
			 November 2001 51  
			 November 2002 54  
			 November 2003 u/a u/a 
			 November 2004  46 
			 November 2005  45 
			 December 2005  42 
		
	
	Notes
	1.To place these figures into context, it should be noted that, whilst only 42 per cent. of non resident parents paid their maintenance liability in full over the quarter ending December 2005, the Agency obtained some form of payment from 70 per cent. of cases in which maintenance was due via the collection service. Where any such payment was obtained, on average, 90 per cent. of the amount due was collected.
	2.Data is not available prior to 1995.
	3.'u/a' indicates that data is unavailable due to limitations in management information.
	4.Numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole per cent.

Council Tax Rebate

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was provided in rebate to properties entitled to 50 per cent. council tax discount in (a) Guildford, (b) Waverley and (c) Surrey in 200506.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Council Tax Rebate

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  when the council tax rebate savings limit was last (a) assessed and (b) increased;
	(2)  what representations he has received on increasingthe council tax rebate savings limit; and what plans he has to increase the council tax rebate savings limit.

James Plaskitt: I have received numerous representations about the savings limit in council tax benefit. The lower savings limit for people aged under 60 was increased on 1 April of this year from 3,000 to 6,000, in line with the lower savings limit for people aged 60 or over.
	There have been no changes to the upper savings limit of 16,000 since the introduction of council tax benefit in April 1993.
	Although the savings limits are kept under review, there are no plans to amend the limits further.

Departmental Policies

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to west Lancashire constituency the effects in west Lancashire of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: We have undertaken a fundamental overhaul of the welfare system, transforming it to an active system that fights poverty, creates opportunity and helps people become self-sufficient and independent.
	Since 1997 the Government have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport, most recently through the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 which met our commitment to put in place a comprehensive and enforceable set of rights for disabled people. Disabled people in west Lancashire will have benefited from these significant improvements in disability rights.
	In 200405 we estimate there were around 10 million disabled people in Great Britain, including people with limiting longstanding illnesses. All of these people would meet the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
	Information on the numbers of customers in west Lancashire who are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) is in the table.
	
		
			  Operational Year 
			 West Lancashire 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 DLA recipients 5.4 5.5 5.7 5.8 
			 AA recipients 2.3 2.4 2.7 2.6 
		
	
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate.
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and are displayed in thousands.
	DLA is from DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) at 31 August each year.
	AA is from a five per cent sample at 31 August each year.
	Through Jobcentre Plus, we are promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age. Since 1997 the number of long-term unemployed in west Lancashire has fallen by 72 per cent. and the number of young people that are unemployed by 38 per cent.
	Our new deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, disabled people, the over 50s and partners of unemployed people to move from benefit into work. Nationally over 15 million people have been helped into work by the new deals, with over 3,000 in west Lancashire alone.
	Significant progress has been made in tackling child poverty. Since 199899 the number of children in relative low-income households fell by 700,000 from 3.1 million to 2.4 million on a before housing costs (BHC) basis and 700,000 from 4.1 million to 3.4 million on an after housing costs (AHC) basis.
	Since 200102 incomes for lone parents in receipt of benefit have risen by more than prices or the cost of living. Child rates in income support and jobseeker's allowance have been increased by 40 per cent. since 200102, increasing above inflation in April 2005 in line with child tax credit upratings. All of this has benefited 1,900 families in west Lancashire.
	We want all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement and to share fairly in the rising prosperity of the country and our first priority has been to help the least well off pensioners. The Government will be spending over 10 billion extra in 200607 on pensioners as a result of measures introduced since 1997. Almost half of this spending going to the least well off third of pensioners.
	Our reforms include the state second pension, which helps more future pensioners build up better pensions, especially carers. Pension credit, introduced from October 2003, provides a contribution to a guaranteed minimum income for those aged 60 and over and, for the first time, rewards people aged 65 and over who have made modest provision for their retirement. As of August 2005, around 4,800 pensioners in west Lancashire are receiving pension credit, with an average award of 41.71 per week.
	We know that older people, who are often on fixed incomes, value timely help with fuel costs. This winter (200506) we have again made available a winter fuel payment of 200 for each eligible household with someone aged 60 or over and 300 if the household includes someone aged 80 or over to help with their fuel bills. In 200405, around 19,500 people in west Lancashire received a winter fuel payment.
	Since 1997 pensioners have seen a real terms increase in their basic state pension of 9 per cent. As at August 2005, around 18,200 pensioners in west Lancashire
	have benefited from this increase.
	Notes:
	1.Pension Credit and State Pension data are as at August 2005. 2.Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands. 3.Pension Credit replaced MIG on the 6 October 2003. 4.Average amounts are shown to the nearest penny.
	Source:
	DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS).

Disability Living Allowance

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for disability living allowance were received in the latest year for which figures are available; how many of these were (a) granted and (b) rejected; how many of those rejected were appealed; and how many of those appeals were (i) granted and (ii) rejected.

Anne McGuire: Information is not available in the precise form requested. The available information is that in the year to 31 December 2005, some 426,700 claims to disability living allowance were received by the Disability and Carers Service and 423,300 claims were decided. Of these, 198,000 resulted in an award of the allowance and 225,300 were disallowed 1 .
	In the same period, the Appeals Service received 82,200 appeals against decisions on disability living allowance claims and appeal tribunals decided 71,400 such appeals. Some 35,900 of the appeal tribunal decisions were in favour of the appellant, whilst 34,400 were either against the appellant or upheld the decision made by the Disability and Carers Service. In the remaining 1,200 decisions, appeal tribunals disposed of the appeals in other ways, such as by striking out the appeal or by changing the period for which disability living allowance had been awarded 2 .
	1 Source:
	DWP MIS Computer System, 100 per cent. data. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
	2 Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample of the Generic Appeals Service Systems. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.

Full-time/Part-time Workers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time workers there were in the UK in each of the last 30 years.

Anne McGuire: The information is not available to cover the whole of the time period requested. Such information as is available is in the table:
	
		The number of full-time and part-time employees in the UKsince 1984 -- Thousands
		
			  In employment: full-time, UK In employment: part-time, UK 
		
		
			 1984 19,019 4,985 
			 1985 19,243 5,116 
			 1986 19,286 5,204 
			 1987 19,450 5,392 
			 1988 20,146 5,603 
			 1989 20,780 5,785 
			 1990 20,930 5,854 
			 1991 20,340 5,872 
			 1992 19,631 6,001 
			 1993 19,212 6,069 
			 1994 19,219 6,233 
			 1995 19,449 6,282 
			 1996 19,485 6,516 
			 1997 19,788 6,660 
			 1998 20,001 6,712 
			 1999 20,249 6,803 
			 2000 20,515 6,918 
			 2001 20,708 6,983 
			 2002 20,802 7,064 
			 2003 20,878 7,288 
			 2004 21,023 7,385 
			 2005 21,357 7,319 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The data is taken from the latest Labour Force Survey data.
	2.The Labour Force Survey is a survey of the population of private households, student halls of residence and NHS accommodation.
	Source:
	Labour Force Survey.

Jobcentres

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on providing jobcentre services in (a) 200405 and (b) 200506 in the London borough of Wandsworth, broken down by (i) jobcentre and (ii) (A) capital and (B) resource spending; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much his Department plans to spend on the Wandsworth JobcentrePlus in 200607; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking (a) what his Department spent on providing Jobcentre services in 200405 and 200506 in the London borough of Wandsworth, broken down by (i) Job Centre and (ii) (A) capital and (B) resource; and (b) how much his Department plans to spend on Wandsworth Jobcentre Plus in 200607. This is something that falls under my responsibility as chief executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus devolves budgets and accounts for expenditure to district level which, in this case, would cover Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth.
	As the district boundary does not correspond with that of the London borough of Wandsworth it is not possible to give details of expenditure or budgets for specific London boroughs or individual Jobcentre Plus offices.

Jobseeker's Allowance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what is the current time taken to process claims for jobseeker's allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 20 April 2006
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking for a statement on the current time taken to process claims for Jobseeker's Allowance. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus measures the time taken to process a claim for Jobseeker's Allowance as the Actual Average Clearance Time. This is measured against a Key Management Indicator which is agreed at the beginning of each year. For 2005/06, this was set at 12 working days. Latest figures show that for the year to February 2006 claims were processed in an average of 14.3 working days.
	Jobcentre Plus is transforming the service it provides by making it available via the telephone, via the Internet and through the personal service offered to people in Jobcentre Plus offices. With change on this scale there can be difficulties in the beginning and, as a consequence, average clearance times have temporarily increased. This is clearly causing unacceptable delays for customers and we have taken action to address the delays.
	On 30 January we launched a National Action Plan designed to reduce clearance times. The plan requires that:
	all delivery units work through a Health Check and address the areas where they are under-performing;
	senior managers regularly review and address poor performance; and
	delivery units performing below the required level develop a recovery plan to improve performance.
	Senior Operational Managers were required to provide a formal assurance at the end of February that all elements of the plan are being complied with, although it has been acknowledged that concentration on backlogs of work may initially cause average clearance times to rise. The Chief Operating Officer is monitoring performance very closely.
	In order to focus management attention on this issue, the Actual Average Clearance Times measure, which will remain at 12 days for Jobseeker's Allowance claims, has been added to the suite of Jobcentre Plus Targets for 2006/07.
	I hope this is helpful.

Lone Parents

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in west Lancashire constituency have been paid the lone parent work search premium.

Margaret Hodge: The work search premium pilots are running in eight Jobcentre Plus districts, including west Lancashire. Lone parents participating in the pilot are paid a 20 a week premium for a maximum of 26 weeks to help with the costs associated with searching for work. Participation is voluntary and certain eligibility criteria must be met. Participants agree to undertake intensive work search and will also be entitled to help with the cost of formal childcare while undertaking work search activities.
	Between October 2004, when the pilots started, and November 2005, the latest date for which information is available, 407 lone parents in the west Lancashire Jobcentre Plus district had received the work search premium. Constituency information is not available.
	An evaluation of the work search premium is being undertaken and a report is expected to be published in spring 2007.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he was first shown the final draft of the parliamentary ombudsman's report Trusting in the Pensions Promise; and when the Government's response was given to the ombudsman.

Stephen Timms: The parliamentary ombudsman sent a copy of her draft report to the Department on 21 December 2005. In line with the ombudsman's timetable, the Permanent Secretary responded on 27 January 2006. The contents of this reply appear at Annex D to the ombudsman's report.
	The ombudsman then sent a second draft report on 13 February 2006 and, again in accordance with the ombudsman's deadline, the Permanent Secretary replied on 28 February 2006. This reply appears at Paragraph 7.116 of the report.
	Although the Government indicated to the ombudsman how it was minded to respond after considering the two drafts, no final decision was made on the matter until after receipt of the published report.

Pensions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions why those contracted out of (a) SERPS and (b) the Second State Pension do not receive the national insurance rebate in the year prior to retirement.

Stephen Timms: State Second Pension (formerly SERPS) does not accrue in respect of the tax year in which people reach state pension age. Consequently, because the national insurance rebate is intended to replace the state benefit foregone when someone contracts out, age-related rebates made to those contracted out into a personal pension or a defined contribution occupational pension, are not made in respect of that tax year.
	In the case of contracted-out occupational pension schemes, both employer and employee pay reduced rate national insurance contributions. Additional costs and administrative burdens would arise for employers if the rebate ceased in the year in which people reach state pension age and a higher national insurance rate became payable. Payment of reduced rate contributions is permitted to continue into the tax year in which state pension age is reached.

Poverty Statistics

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households with at least one full-time employee in (a) Wirral, West, (b) Wirral borough and (c) England are living in poverty.

Margaret Hodge: Specific information regarding low income for Government office regions of Great Britain is available in the latest publication of the 'Households Below Average Income (HBAI) 1994/95 to 2004/05', available in the Library. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
	The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of indicators. The data source does not allow us to provide robust estimates below regional level, therefore estimates for Wirral, West and Wirral borough are not available.
	Information on the numbers (in millions) of households in absolute and relative low income with at least one full-time employee in the north west and Merseyside region, and in England is shown in the following table as three-year averages. Relative low income is defined here as below 60 per cent. of the contemporary median income, and absolute low income is defined here as below 60 per cent. of 199697 median income which has been fixed in real terms.
	
		Number of households with incomes below 60 per cent. of GB median income and at least one household member in full-time employment in the north west and Merseyside and Englandthree-year average 200203 to 200405 -- Millions
		
			  Relative low income Absolute low income (199697 terms) 
			  Before housing costs After housing costs Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 North West and Merseyside 0.08 0.10 0.04 0.05 
			 England 0.6 0.9 0.4 0.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures are provided using a three-year average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide at regional level. Hence, figures may not be consistent with previously published single-year estimates.
	2.It is not possible to present estimates from the FRS below Government office region level due to small sample sizes, and the survey design not being fully representative at this level.
	3.Regional figures for the north west and Merseyside are rounded to the nearest 10,000 rather than the usual 100,000 as presented in the HBAI publication. This is because the standard approach does not give an informative view of changes over time at this level of disaggregation.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey (FRS)

Work Incentives

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to reduce disincentives for unemployed people to return to work resulting from higher effective marginal deduction rates; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Government's policies in recent years have already gone a long way to ensuring work pays, for example through the introduction of the national minimum wage and working tax credit, as well as the introduction of the 10p starting rate of income tax.
	Since 1997, the number of people facing marginal deduction rates of over 70 per cent. has fallen by half a million and the new increased income disregard in tax credits, of 25,000 from April 2006, means that families receiving tax credits where someone moves into work keep the same entitlement for the rest of the tax year, rather than seeing tax credit payments reduced, even if the job is paid at the average wage.
	The Government have also piloted the use of additional transitional support for targeted groups making the move off benefit and into work. We have developed an effective strategy for helping more lone parents make the transition from benefits and into work which combines child care assistance, financial support for those entering work and provision of work focused advice and support.
	The 40 in work credit for lone parents has been piloted in a number of Jobcentre Plus districts since 2004, providing support for the first year in employment. The child and working tax credits are helping to tackle child poverty and make work pay for all families, including lone parents.
	For incapacity benefit claimants, the Pathways to work pilots include a similar 40 per week return to work credit. The Welfare Reform Green Paper announced in January our intention to rollout Pathways to the remaining two-thirds of the country by 200809.
	Our analysis shows that many more people are already better off in work than on benefit as a result of tax credits and we believe this and other policies designed to make work pay have contributed to record levels of employmentnow at the highest level since records began.

PRIME MINISTER

Engagements

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the official engagements undertaken overseas by his wife since May 2005.

Tony Blair: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. Copies of these lists are available in the Library of the House. Information on the number of officials accompanying Ministers on overseas visits is included in the list. All Ministers' travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in Chapter 10 of the Ministerial Code, and
	the accompanying guidance document, Travel by Ministers.
	Information for the year 200506 will be published as soon as it is ready. Where Mrs Blair has undertaken official visits this will be accounted for in the annual list.

Government Priorities

Andrew Turner: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the issues which have been identified as top priority for the Government.

Tony Blair: The Government's priorities are set out in the Labour Party manifesto on which we were elected. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Ministerial Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2006, Official Report, column539W, on ministerial travel, if he will list the dates since 1 October 2005 when he has deemed it appropriate to travel by train.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 23 March 2006, Official Report, column 539W.

Ministerial Visits

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister which (a) probation offices and (b) prisons he has visited since 1997; and for what purposes in each case.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr.Clappison) on 15 November 2005, Official Report, column 1103W.

Ministerial Visits

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister which drug rehabilitation centres he has visited since 1997; and for what purposes in each case.

Tony Blair: My visits cover a range of matters including health, education, criminal justice and the economy. I have undertaken a number of visits relating to drug use and rehabilitation. For example Ivisited Phoenix House Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Glasgow in March 2000, and the Turnaround Project in Glasgow in September 2000.

Ministerial Visits

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  which schools he has visited in each year since 1997; and for what purpose in each case;
	(2)  which hospitals he has visited since 1997; and for what purposes in each case.

Tony Blair: Records of official visits are not held in this manner and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. My visits cover a range of matters including health, education, criminal justice and the economy and I have visited many schools and hospitals since 1997.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether it is his practice personally to approve replies to written parliamentary answers in his name.

Tony Blair: Yes.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister how many and what percentage of written parliamentary questions in 2006 to date he has answered (a) by referring the questioner to an earlier answer and (b) by using the formula 'I have nothing further to add' to an earlier answer.

Tony Blair: This information is not held in the format requested. However, it is a matter of public record and can be found in the Official Report.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will undertake research to compare the amount of information provided by him in response to written parliamentary questions with that provided by his predecessor.

Tony Blair: No.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 18 April 2006, Official Report, column400W, if he will provide details of steps he takes to ensure that his answering practices are consistent with the February 2005 Cabinet Office guidance to Departments.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 18 April 2006, Official Report, column 400W.

Political Operations Section

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer to question 63151, on the political operations section of his office, what the present complement is of staff working there; and what it was in June 1997.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 18 April 2006, Official Report, column 400W.

United Nations

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will list the occasions when he has addressed a meeting of the United Nations in each year since 1997; if he will place in the Library the text of the speech made; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will list the occasions when he has chaired a meeting of the United Nations in each year since 1997; what the subject under discussion was; if he will place in the Library the agenda and other papers considered at the meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I have regular discussions with members of the United Nations on a wide range of issues, and have addressed the General Assembly on 14 September 2005, 6 September 2000 and 23 June 1997. Copies of my speeches are available on the No. 10 and United Nations websites.

Visits

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the occasions on which he has visited Australia in an official capacity since 1997; what the purpose of the visit was in each case; what the (a) date, (b) time, (c) location and (d) duration was of each meeting held during each visit; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. Copies of these lists are available in the Library of the House. Information on the number of officials accompanying Ministers on overseas visits is included in the list. All Ministers' travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in chapter 10 of the ministerial code, and the accompanying guidance document, Travel by Ministers. Information for the year 200506 will be published as soon as it is ready.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend, the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) on 18 April 2006, Official Report, column401W.

Visits

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the (a) grade and (b) duties of each official accompanying him on overseas visits since May 1997; and what the costs associated with such staff were in each case.

Tony Blair: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. Copies of these lists are available in the Library of the House. Information on the number of officials accompanying Ministers on overseas visits is included in the list. All Ministers' travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in chapter 10 of the ministerial code, and the accompanying guidance document, Travel by Ministers.
	Information for the year 200506 will be published as soon as it is ready.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Anglian Water

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions his Department's growth areas directorate has had with Anglian Water on the effective implementation of water efficiency measures in new houses.

Yvette Cooper: Officials from the growth areas division in this Department met senior officials from Anglian Water in London on 27 July 2005. At this meeting, Anglian Water outlined their approach to meeting the demand for its services in the light of proposals for housing growth within its area. My officials were invited to a further meeting with Anglian Water at their headquarters in Huntingdon on 19 September 2005, where the water company provided further details of its plans for meeting increased demand due to housing growth. Water efficiency measures in new homes was raised in the course of these discussions.

Anhydrite Mines

Iain Wright: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many local authorities in England have applied to English Partnerships for funding to investigate the stability of anhydrite mines.

Yvette Cooper: One local authority, Hartlepool borough council, has applied to English Partnerships for funding through the Land Stabilisation Programme to investigate the stability of anhydrite mines.

Article 4 Directions

David Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when his Department's consultation on proposed improvements to the procedure for making Article 4 Directions is expected to take place.

Yvette Cooper: We are hoping to issue this consultation after the local elections.

Biodiversity (Mid-Sussex)

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact on local biodiversity of increased house building in Mid- Sussex.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 19 April 2006
	The consideration of impacts on local biodiversity of new house building are matters that should be addressed by regional planning bodies and local planning authorities when preparing regional spatial strategies and local development documents. In preparing these plans, they must have regard to national planning policies set out in Planning Policy Statement 9 (PPS9) Biodiversity and Geological Conservation. PPS9 indicates that plan policies should aim to maintain and enhance, restore or add to biodiversity interests and recognises that it is possible to build in beneficial biodiversity features as part of the design of new developments. PPS9 is also supported by a recently published good practice guide which includes practical examples of how planning authorities can plan positively for biodiversity.

Brixham Council

Anthony Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 959W, on the Brixham council proposal, what steps he has taken to ensure that a Brixham town council will be established on 1 April 2007; and what steps remain to be taken in order for the council to be operative on that date.

Phil Woolas: Officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are considering the recommendation of Torbay council to establish a Brixham town council and they expect to submit this proposal to Ministers for a decision within the next three weeks.
	For the town council to be established on 1 April 2007 the Electoral Commission, who are responsible for electoral arrangements, would need to make their order for the electoral arrangements of the town council in time for elections in May 2007.

Council Property (Disabled Facilities)

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance has been issued to local authorities on means testing for disabled facilities in council properties that are recommended and approved by a social services occupational therapist; and when this was issued.

Yvette Cooper: The disabled facilities grant (DFG) programme, which is the responsibility of my Department and administered by local authorities, is the principal means by which Government financial support is made available to help with housing adaptations for disabled people. The grant is a mandatory entitlement for eligible disabled people and applies to all housing tenures including council properties. The grant is subject to a means test and this is set out in legislation which is notified to all local authorities.
	In order for the local authority to assess the needs of a DFG applicant an occupational therapist from the social services is often consulted but any advice and recommendation they give would not alter the requirement for the grant to be means tested.
	Local authorities have other powers to provide housing adaptations for disabled people but these are discretionary. Many local authorities use these other powers to provide adaptations to their own stock and in this case there would be no necessity to apply a means test.
	My Department, jointly with the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills issued, in November 2004, a Good Practice Guide entitled 'Delivering housing adaptations for disabled people'. This emphasised the need for local authorities to have a housing adaptations policy which offered the same level of service quality for all tenures with the rights set out in the DFG legislation as at least a minimum standard.

Council Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was paid in rent into each council housing revenue account in (a) 200203, (b) 200304 and (c) 200506; how much in each year was spent on (i) council administration, (ii) housing repairs and (iii)tenant services; and what the total surplus made available to his Department was in each year.

Yvette Cooper: A table showing rental income and expenditure on council housing maintenance for 200203 and 200304 has been made available in the Library of the House. The figures are supplied by local authorities and are unaudited (figures are not yet available for 200506).
	Expenditure on council administration is a general management function funded through the general fund. The HRA is a ring-fenced account within the general fund; that ring fence prevents the transfer of housing resources for other purposes such as general administration.
	No figures are collected on authorities' expenditure on tenant services.
	In 200203 and 200304 the subsidy system did not capture and redistribute surpluses; housing element entitlement was calculated instead as a net amount against rent rebate element entitlement, which was accounted for in the HRA prior to 31 March 2004.
	Since 1 April 2004, rent rebates are no longer accounted for in the HRA which is strictly a landlord account.
	Some authorities are in surplus and others are in deficit, in addition to moving surpluses to where they are needed most, the Government also provides additional net subsidy of around 200 million each year. The forecast for 200506 is for approximately that amount and forecasts for future years are similar.

Council Tax

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the percentage increase in band D council tax has been in each local authority in England between 200304 to 200607.

Phil Woolas: The information requested has been made available in the Library of the House. The table shows the percentage increase in area band D council tax for each billing authority in England between 200304 and 200607. Information for Wales is available from the Welsh Assembly Government.

Departmental Circulars

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the circulars his Department issued to local authorities in each year since his Department was established.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister maintains a database of its own circulars, available for public view at: http://www.publications.odpm.gov.uk/pubadvsearch.asp. Enter the keyword circular under the series search field.
	In addition to this resource, the ODPM leads on managing the 'Info 4 Local' website (http://www.info41ocaLgov.uk), which catalogues all types of documents relevant to local authorities, including circulars/letters. Information for local authorities which appears on the ODPM website now goes onto the Info 4 Local site as a matter of course. The full archive comprises documents released by some 65 organisations, including government departments, agencies and other public bodies, and records cover the preceding two years. A search tool built into the website allows subscribers to search by document type or originating department, and subscription to the website is free.

Departmental Policies

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Islington, South and Finsbury constituency, the effects on Islington, South and Finsbury of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) does not hold separate expenditure data on Islington, South and Finsbury constituency.
	The Department has put in place a considerable programme of reforms and improvements across a wide range of housing, planning and regeneration policy areas since 1997. For example, ODPM is determined that everyone should have the opportunity to have a decent home and our strategy has meant that in 2004 the number of social sector non-decent homes in England had been reduced by around one million. Islington has set up an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) and is receiving additional funding through this for investing in its housing stock. It also has two housing PFI schemes tackling almost 5,000 street properties below the decent homes standard. Islington has reported to ODPM that the number of properties in its stock below the decent homes standard has reduced from 18,911 in 2002 to 15,213 in 2005.
	Islington has also received support for tackling deprivation through the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, to enable it, in collaboration with its Local Strategic Partnership (LSPs), to improve services and has narrowed the gap with the rest of the country in its Key Stage 3 and GCSE results.
	The following table sets out the main payments made to London borough of Islington since the ODPM was established following the Machinery of Government changes on 29 May 2002. For earlier years, the table shows the amount paid by ODPM's predecessor Departments from programmes which are now administered by the Office. It has been for London borough of Islington to determine how that allocation is spent, in line with its priorities.
	In addition to the amounts in the table, the London Development Agency (LDA) has spent some 21.3 million on projects in Islington between 200001 (when the LDA was first established) and 200405. The LDA receives around 80 per cent. of its funding from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	
		Funding to LB of Islington
		
			   million 
		
		
			 199798 249.558 
			 199899 245.908 
			 19992000 247.479 
			 200001 250.750 
			 200102 284.595 
			 200203 289.622 
			 200304 328.321 
			 200405 351.733 
			 Total 2,247.966 
		
	
	In 2002, Islington signed a local public service agreement with the Government, whereby the Council undertook to achieve more testing targets in top priority services in return for reward grant. The Council will accordingly be paid 4.4 million of reward grant2.2 million of which it will receive very shortly.
	Islington's local area agreement was signed on 23 March, which will enable Islington and its partners to pool Government funding and work together more flexibly to deliver priority services for local people.

E-enabling

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the target for 100 per cent. of local government services to be e-enabled by 31 December 2005 was achieved.

Jim Fitzpatrick: By December 2005 the average local authority was 97 per cent. e-enabled based upon returns from all authorities in England. The residual 3 per cent. is accounted for by legal or operational barriers to e-enablement, allowed within the definition of best value performance indicator 157, which measured local authority performance against the 2005 target.

E-enabling

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how his Department assesses the cost-effectiveness of e-enabling local government services.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We commissioned a study to quantify the benefits for six National Projects. The findings were based on the experiences of the local authorities engaged in implementing these solutions. Their experiences provided a sample for analysis from which reasoned conclusions were drawn and validated with local authorities and their suppliers. Local authorities can use the outputs of the projects to achieve quantified cost savings, increases in revenue collection and service quality improvements.

Energy Efficiency

Lynne Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the expected performance against the target to deliver a 40 per cent. increase in the energy efficiency of new homes on 2002 levels; and what estimate he has made of the impact of non-compliance with revised building regulations on expected performance.

Yvette Cooper: The Regulatory Impact Assessment supporting the April 2006 amendment to raise energy performance standards in Part L of the Building Regulations can be seen on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website www.odpm.gov.uk. Building regulations are a mandatory requirement and this assessment is therefore based upon full compliance.
	There is no estimate of the impact that non-compliance could have on expected performance although reports commissioned by ODPM and by others show to some extent that more effort to achieve compliance is needed.
	We are therefore continuing to work with building control bodies to see how compliance can be cost effectively improved and are nine months into the largest ever training and dissemination campaign for building regulations.

Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the operation of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations came into force in December 1997 and were amended in 1999. Since the introduction of the regulations, the number of fires in non-domestic premises in England and Wales has decreased from over 19,342 in 1997 to 16,212 in 2004. The number of enforcement notices served under section 13(1) of the regulations has increased from 87 in 199899 to over 1,100 in 200405 which reflects the risk-based approach to enforcement that the fire and rescue authorities have adopted. Although the number of deaths in non-domestic premises has remained fairly static, it is low (18in 2004). Non-fatal casualities have fallen from 1,159 in 1997 to 724 in 2004.

House Building

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of the cost of building a home was paid for on average by public money in the most recent year for which figures are available where the house was built (a) as part of a shared equity scheme, (b) by a housing association and (c) by a local authority.

Yvette Cooper: In 200304 the average public subsidy invested through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme for a social rented unit was over 64,000 and for a shared ownership unit was around 35,000.
	The public subsidy includes both grant provided via the Housing Corporation and other public subsidies, such as contributions by local authorities.
	We do not hold figures for local authority investment.

House Building

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact on local biodiversity of increased house building in East Cheshire.

Yvette Cooper: The consideration of impacts on local biodiversity of new house building are matters that should be addressed by regional planning bodies and local planning authorities when preparing regional spatial strategies and local development documents. In preparing these plans, they must have regard to national planning policies set out in Planning Policy Statement 9 (PPS9) Biodiversity and Geological Conservation. PPS9 indicates that plan policies should aim to maintain and enhance, restore or add to biodiversity interests and recognises that it is possible to build in beneficial biodiversity features as part of the design of new developments. PPS9 is also supported by a recently published good practice guide which includes practical examples of how planning authorities can plan positively for biodiversity.

House Building

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to ensure timely development of infrastructure to keep pace with housing construction in (a) the borough of Macclesfield and (b) Cheshire.

Yvette Cooper: In the last four years house building has been reduced in Cheshire, and especially in Macclesfield, to focus development on more urban and brownfield sites in the conurbations, encouraging urban regeneration. The infrastructural requirements arising from house building are not, therefore, the same as in growth areas.
	Transport infrastructure in the borough is being improved by the enhancement of the west coast main line, currently nearing completion. Beyond that, Cheshire county council has the main responsibility via its Local Transport Plan. The Alderley Edge and Nether Alderley by-pass scheme has provisional approval status from DfT and was identified as a priority scheme in the region's Regional Funding Allocation prepared by the North West Development Agency and the North West regional assembly. A decision on the Regional Funding Allocation will be made by Ministers in due course.
	Drainage and water supply are a matter for the provider (United Utilities). Social infrastructure is dealt with via the capital programmes of the county council and other relevant agencies, within the resources available. Those resources can be supplemented by the use of planning obligations, and proposals are in hand to improve that via the Planning Gain Supplement.
	Under the new spatial planning regime, the regional assembly and local planning authorities should assess infrastructure requirements, in co-operation with all relevant agencies, when preparing their development plans. The Regional Spatial Strategy is under review, has been published in draft, and will be subject to public examination in autumn 2006. It proposes to double the rate of house building in Macclesfield. It will be for the inspectors examining the RSS to come to a view on thefeasibility of this, subject to any representations made by the planners and providers of infrastructure, and we will note their recommendations before finalising the Regional Spatial Strategy.

Housing

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate his Department has made of housing growth in (a) the county of Greater Manchester, (b) Stockport Metropolitan Borough and (c) Tameside Metropolitan Borough in each year to 2010.

Yvette Cooper: The Government has not made estimates of the growth in housing supply at local authority level. Future housing requirements are assessed by regions and local authorities as part of the development of Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Frameworks. These assessments are expected to take account of factors including the Government's latest projections of household growth.
	Household projections down to local authority are available on the ODPM website at: (http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882PressNoticeID=2097). These show the additional households up to 2026 that would form if recent demographic trends continue. The household projections contribute part of the evidence for the assessment of housing requirements by regions and local authorities.

Housing

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people in temporary accommodation therehave been in each of the last 10 years in Milton Keynes.

Yvette Cooper: In January 2005, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published Sustainable Communities: Homes for All which set a target to halve the number of households living in temporary accommodation by 2010. Information about English local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly and is in respect of households rather than people. The number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by Milton Keynes district council under homelessness legislation on 31 March in each year since 1996 is tabled as follows.
	
		Households in temporary accommodation(26) arranged by Milton Keynes DC under homelessness legislation as at 31 March
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1996 253 
			 1997 284 
			 1998 382 
			 1999 619 
			 2000 889 
			 2001 1,151 
			 2002 1,320 
			 2003 1,592 
			 2004 1,448 
			 2005 849 
		
	
	(26)Households in accommodation either pending a decision on their homelessness application or awaiting allocation of a settled home following acceptance. Excludes those households designated as homeless at home that have remained in their existing accommodation and have the same rights to suitable alternative accommodation as those in accommodation arranged by the authority.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly)
	Until 31 March 2004, the council were allocating accommodation on a non secure tenancy basis, mainly in its own stock, once a household was accepted as homeless. From 1 April 2005, the council changed the status of these tenancies to introductory tenancies for both existing and new households where a duty to house had been accepted. This gives households increased tenancy rights, greater stability within a community and greater choice in accessing accommodation.
	In addition, the council have adopted an early intervention approach with households threatened with homelessness so that a higher proportion are placed in accommodation on an introductory tenancy before homelessness occurs.

Housing

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what funding is available for temporary to permanent housing initiatives in the 2006 to 2008 National Affordable Housing Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The London Housing Board recommended that 20 million of funding be allocated from the London regional housing pot 200608 for temporary to permanent housing initiatives. No final decisions have yet been taken on the distribution of these earmarked resources.
	We are also considering how the pilot extra homes scheme announced in the Budget 2006 could build on the range of existing and emerging 'temporary to permanent' housing schemes to help families in London move from temporary accommodation into settled homes.

Local Authorities (Chief Executive Emoluments)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) salary and (b) pension benefits relating to electoral duties were paid to the chief executive of each local authority in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not held centrally. For national elections, the appointed Returning Officer, who may or may not be the chief executive of a relevant local authority, receives a prescribed fee. A full breakdown of Returning Officers fees and charges for the 2005 general election is listed under the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers' Charges) Order (SI: 2005 No. 780). This specifies an Returning Officer's fee of 2,500 per constituency for which they are responsible.
	It is for local authorities to decide what remuneration is made to Returning Officers at local elections and Electoral Registration Officers for registration duties. It is also for local authorities to make superannuation arrangements for all staff appointed by them.

Local Authority Publicity

Mark Harper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity applies to regional assemblies and their officers.

Yvette Cooper: The Code of Recommended Practice does not apply to regional assemblies or their officers. However, the Government expect that in the course of their duties regional assemblies will give due regard to and operate within the provisions of the Code.

Local Government Pensions

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the 85 year rule was introduced in the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Phil Woolas: A provision in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales which enabled members to retire at age 60 with 25 years service (on an unreduced pension) was first introduced in 1974.
	There were no changes to this 'Rule of 85' until the LGPS Regulations 1997 which introduced the facility, from April 1998, for members (subject to employer consent) to retire and receive unreduced pensions from age 50 if they met the 85 year rule.

Pathfinder Programme

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what changes in average house prices have occurred in pathfinder areas since the start of each programme.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows changes in median house prices in each pathfinder between the time that a scheme was agreed and funding announced and the final quarter of 2005. Median house prices have also risen very slightly across the regions.
	
		
			 Pathfinder Date scheme agreed/funding awarded Median house price for that quarter() Median house price for Q4 2005 (provisional data)() 
		
		
			 Birmingham Sandwell June 2004 86,000 95,000 
			 East Lancashire March 2004 33,300 54,500 
			 Hull and East Riding March 2005 60,000 74,950 
			 Manchester Salford October 2003 47,000 85,000 
			 Merseyside January 2004 46,500 72,000 
			 Newcastle Gateshead January 2004 65,000 87,500 
			 North Staffordshire June 2004 52,500 67,500 
			 Oldham Rochdale March 2004 45,000 74,950 
			 South Yorkshire March 2004 55,000 78,000

Pathfinder Programme

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been awarded to each pathfinder programme to date.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the sums awarded to each of the nine housing market renewal pathfinders for 200406 and, where funding decisions have been made, for 200608.
	
		
			 Pathfinder Funding awarded for 200406 ( million) Funding awarded for 200608 ( million) 
		
		
			 Birmingham Sandwell 49.7 (27) 
			 East Lancashire 72.6 94.9 
			 Hull and East Riding 11.3 (27) 
			 Manchester Salford 115.4 (27) 
			 Merseyside 92.6 97.7 
			 Newcastle Gateshead 69.6 64.0 
			 North Staffordshire 32.9 67.5 
			 Oldham and Rochdale 54.4 67.5 
			 South Yorkshire 70.7 90.0 
			 Total 569.2 481.6 
		
	
	(27)Announcement not yet made.

Pathfinder Programme

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made since December 2005 by the nine pathfinder schemes towards meeting the recommendations made by the Audit Commission in its strategic reviews of market renewal pathfinders.

Yvette Cooper: All pathfinders are working towards implementing Audit Commission recommendations which have generally been allocated time scales of between six and 12 months for completion. We will be including these recommendations in funding agreements, due to be issued shortly, for the next phase of funding (200608) and will be monitoring progress as part of our ongoing performance management process.

Relative Need

John Hemming: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons the system was changed from formula spending share to relative need factors.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made to the House when announcing the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, 5 December 2005, Official Report, column 627.

Relative Need

John Hemming: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the formula is for converting relative need factors into monetary amounts.

Phil Woolas: The full formula is given in Section 5 of the Local Government Finance Report (England) 200607.
	A model showing the calculation of formula grant for all authorities can be found on the ODPM website at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/0607/grant.htm.

Relative Need

John Hemming: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total relative needs grant block is for 200607; and what the total of needs above threshold is for 200607.

Phil Woolas: The relative needs amount for 200607 is 20,878,123,134. The total needs above the threshold is 0.23098045438450.
	A model showing the calculation of formula grant for all authorities can be found on the ODPM website at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/0607/grant.htm

Retrospective Planning Applications

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will introduce measures to speed up the procedures for considering retrospective planning applications.

Yvette Cooper: Retrospective planning applications are treated in the same way as planning applications, and have a statutory eight-week determination period. We have no plans to shorten this period.

Right To Buy (Yorkshire/Humber)

Clive Betts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which rural areas in Yorkshire and Humber are exempt from the Right to Buy.

Yvette Cooper: No rural areas in Yorkshire and the Humber are exempt from the Right to Buy.
	However, section 157 of the Housing Act 1985 allows social landlords to restrict the resale of properties sold under the Right to Buy scheme in specified rural areas. Such properties may only be sold to buyers who have lived or worked locally for at least three years. Alternatively, and with the consent of the Secretary of State, social landlords may require that properties sold under the Right to Buy scheme in these areas must be offered back to the former social landlords if the owners wish to sell them within 10 years of the Right to Buy sales.
	In Yorkshire and the Humber, such restrictions may be imposed in the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks, the Nidderdale, Howardian Hills and North Pennines Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the districts of Craven, Harrogate, Scarborough, Ryedale and Richmondshire, excluding settlements with 3,000 or more residents.

Road Maintenance (Legal Proceedings)

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) district, (b) city and (c) county councils spent on out-of-court settlements related to injuries sustained due to lack of maintenance of roads and pavements in each year since 2001.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold the information requested centrally, and could provide it only at disproportionate cost.

Shared Equity Scheme

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many of the people involved in the Shared Equity Scheme are living in Wirral, West.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold this information at constituency level.
	Before the launch of the new Homebuy schemes on 1 April 2006, Government supported shared equity schemes consisted of Shared Ownership and the Homebuy equity loan scheme. Since 1997, 177 households within Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council were helped into home ownership through the Government's shared ownership scheme. There were no completions under the old Homebuy scheme.

Shell Haven

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will make a final announcement on the London Gateway Port at Shell Haven.

Yvette Cooper: On 20 July 2005, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport, announced that he was minded to approve the proposal from PO ports for a new container port at London Gateway and, in parallel, my right hon. Friend, the First Secretary of State, announced that he was minded to approve the proposed adjoining logistics centre, subject in particular to resolution of the highways impacts of the development.
	We are currently considering the large amount of material submitted by the parties and will make a further announcement in due course.

Smoke Alarms

John McDonnell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) fatalities and (b) non-fatal casualties have occurred as a result of dwelling fires in the UK (i)where a smoke alarm was present and (ii) where there was no smoke alarm in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table shows the number of (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal casualties in dwelling fires attended by the fire and rescue service in the UK, by presence and operation of smoke alarms.
	
		Fatal and non-fatal casualties from fires in dwellings by presence and operation of smoke alarms, UK, 1995 to 2004
		
			  Presence and operation of smoke alarm 
			  Present, operated and raised the alarm Present, operated, but did not raise the alarm Present, but did not operate Absent Unspecified Total 
		
		
			 Fatal casualties(28)   
			 1995 58 28 71 389 13 559 
			 1996 57 26 82 399  564 
			 1997 45 27 84 406  562 
			 1998 52 28 79 354  513 
			 1999 51 20 87 305  463 
			 2000 53 38 81 283  455 
			 2001 67 36 99 281  483 
			 2002 60 45 84 240 1 430 
			 2003 68 30 88 261  447 
			 2004 42 35 97 201  375 
			
			 Non-fatal casualties(29)
			 1995 2,205 473 1,188 9,198 44 13,108 
			 1996 2,482 553 1,656 9,498  14,189 
			 1997 2,835 574 1,830 9,657  14,896 
			 1998 2,838 525 2,163 9,453  14,979 
			 1999 3,148 643 2,439 8,394  14,624 
			 2000 3,379 684 2,415 7,906  14,384 
			 2001 3,440 656 2,495 7,370 2 13,963 
			 2002 3,625 754 2,203 6,881  13,463 
			 2003 3,709 705 2,056 6,110  12,580 
			 2004 3,848 733 2,061 5,335  11,977 
		
	
	(28)Includes fire-related deaths recorded by the MOD and media during industrial action in 2002 and 2003, with estimates calculated for the breakdown by alarm presence.
	(29)Includes estimates for non-fatal casualties occurring during industrial action in 2002 and 2003.
	Source:
	Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.

Solar Power

David Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures he plans to adopt to encourage the incorporation of (a) photovoltaic cells and (b) solar panels in new residential developments.

Yvette Cooper: In line with commitments made in the Energy White Paper, the Government are raising the energy performance standards in Part L of the Building Regulations. These higher standards coming into effect in April will encourage greater take-up of low and zero carbon systems such as photovoltaic cells and solar panels. To encourage builders to do more, a Code for Sustainable Homes is being developed that will set environmental performance standards higher than those stipulated by regulation. To further promote on-site energy generation, new homes that use renewable technology will gain extra points in the code.
	In addition to this, Planning Policy Statement 22 encourages the appropriate development of renewable energy schemes and as part of the launch of the new UK Climate Change Programme published on 28 March 2006, we have announced a package of measures to increase carbon savings through the planning system and the work of local authorities.

Stock Transfers

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was allocated for (a) arm's length management organisations (ALMOs), (b) large-scale voluntary transfers (LSVTs), (c) debt write-off from LSVTs and ALMOs and (d) housing action trusts in (i)200405, (ii) 200506 and (iii) 200607.

Yvette Cooper: (a) The allocations from the arms length management organisation (ALMO) programme was 577.15 million in 200405, and are 850.04 million for 200506 and 884.40 million for 200607.
	(b) The sums paid to registered social landlords in gap funding grant were 7.65 million in 200405 and 1.83 million in 200506 and are expected to be 57.679 million in 200607.
	(c) Where a local authority transfers its housing to an RSL and the receipt it receives is not sufficient to repay the outstanding debt attributable to the housing the Office will make a one off payment where the debt is held with the Public Works Loans Board. The one off payment is made to discharge the Office's continued liability, through the Housing Revenue Account, to pay subsidy on an authority's housing attributable debt that remains after the transfer.
	Such payments are not made in respect of ALMOs as the local authority's debt continues to be supported through the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system. 592.44 million was allocated to support housing transfers in 200405. 275.54 million has been allocated to date in 200506. The allocation for 200607 is 616 million.
	(d) The allocation for the Housing Action Trust programme was 59.37 million for 200405, and is 17.6370 million for 200506 and 1 million for 200607.

Sustainable Buildings

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will introduce a mandatory code for sustainable buildings.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 19 April 2006
	From 6 April 2006, new building regulations that set higher mandatory standards for energy efficiency that every new building must meet. These regulations raise energy efficiency standards for new buildings by 40 per cent. compared to 2002.
	In addition we are giving consideration to further ways to increase the take-up of the Code for Sustainable Homes, including the possibility of mandatory assessments against all Code requirements.
	We will also introduce mandatory assessment of energy efficiency in all new homes to be included in Energy Performance Certificates.

Unregistered Social Landlords

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many proposals to allow councils to set up unregistered social landlords have been made to his Department in the last 5 years.

Yvette Cooper: None.

Village Shops (Cornwall)

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many villages in (a) Kerrier district and (b) Cornwall do not have a village shop.

Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
	W do not hold information on how many villages in (a) Kerrier district and (b) Cornwall do not have a village shop.
	The Government have assisted local services by extending mandatory rate relief at 50 per cent. to include sole village public houses, petrol stations and village food shops under the village shop scheme. Qualifying premises are entitled to a 50 per cent. reduction in their business rates bills, and local authorities have the discretion to top-up all other non-domestic premises up to 100 per cent. provided it has a rateable value of 14,000 or less.
	The Countryside Agency has supported village shops through the Community Service Grants, identified under the Vital Villages programme, (a three year programme of grants that commenced in April 2001). Since April 2005, Defra has devolved funding for some of the Countryside Agency's economic and social regeneration policies, including those hitherto supported by the Vital Villages programme, to the regional development agencies. RDAs, working in partnership, will decide how to spend their resources to meet national targets and address regional and local needs.

Waste Incinerators

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what requirements there are for planning authorities to take account of available water resources when determining planning applications for incinerators, with particular reference to East Sussex; and what opportunity exists for the views of water supply companies to be considered in such cases.

Yvette Cooper: Local planning authorities must determine planning applications in accordance with the statutory development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Where relevant the availability of water resources will have informed the preparation of the development plan and its policies and could be a material consideration in the determination of a planning application for an incinerator. Water undertakers will be consulted on the preparation of the development plan, and applications for planning permission will be publicised by the local planning authority concerned.

Departmental Policies

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to west Lancashire constituency the effects in west Lancashire of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

Phil Woolas: The Department has put in place a considerable programme of reforms and improvements across a wide range of policy areas. These changes have resulted in payments made to west Lancashire district council since 200203 (when the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established following the Machinery of Government Changes on 29 May 2002) as shown in the following tables. It has been for the west Lancashire district council to determine how that allocation has spent, in line with their priorities.
	
		 million
		
			  200203 200304 200405 
		
		
			 Revenue Funding for West Lancashire DC 
			 Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders 0.584 0.438 0.897 
			 Neighbourhood and Street Wardens 0.308 0.308 0.101 
			 Revenue Support Grant 2.760 4.280 4.690 
			 National Non-Domestic Rates 4.630 3.790 2.960 
			 Homelessness Grant 0.020 0.020 0.020 
			 Total 8.302 8.836 8.668 
			 
			 Capital Funding for West Lancashire DC
			 Local Government on Line 0.200 0.200 0.350 
			 Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme 0.264 0.338 1.087 
			 English Partnership projects 0.019 0.004 0.013 
			 Total 0.483 0.542 1.450 
			 
			 Housing Capital Allocations
			 Housing Supported Capital Expenditure 0.855 0.869 0.910 
			 Disabled Facilities Grant 0.169 0.222 0.243 
			 Private Sector Renewal Grant 0 0 0 
			 Total HIP allocation 1.024 1.091 1.153 
			 Major Repairs Allowance 4.398 4.296 4.302 
			 Total 5.422 5.387 5.455 
			 
			 Total 14.207 14.765 15.573 
		
	
	In addition since 1 April 2006 west Lancashire has been a partner in the local area agreement for the county. This has resulted in allocations as follows:
	The Cleaner Safer Greener Fund970,000 for 200607 and 1,130,000 for 200708 to be spent across the borough in order to address 'liveability' issues with a specific focus on narrowing the gap between the best and worst areas.
	The Neighbourhood Element Fund412,800 for 200607 and 516,000 for 200708, to be spent with a focus on neighbourhood management within the areas of Digmoor and Tanhouse in Skelmersdale.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education (Tooting)

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding has been allocated to adult education in Tooting in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The Department allocates funds for the post-16 education and training sector to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) working through 47 local offices. The LSC was established in 2001 bringing the planning and funding of post-16 education together under one body within a framework set by Government. In 200102 the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) spent2,236 million on adult programmes including Further Education, Work Based Learning, Adult and Community Learning and other programmes in England. This increased to 2,427 million in 200203; 2,866 million in 200304; and 2,999 million in 200405. The Department does not hold figures for adult education funding at local or regional levels. Some of the information you require is available on the LSC's website. As the LSC is responsible for the planning and funding of post-16 learning, Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 19 April 2006
	I write in response to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding funding allocated to adult education in Tooting in each year since 1997. I trust the following information is helpful.
	The LSC has calculated that the London Borough of Wandsworth will have received nearly 80 million allocated to adult education as a total funding amount from the LSC inception in 2001/02 to the indicative allocation for 2006/2007.
	We are not able to break this down by ward level and, therefore, these allocations are for the whole of Wandsworth and are not based on providers or residents based in the Tooting ward. The local authority itself may be able to provide further detail on adult participation/funding attracted at ward level.
	I have provided a table to show the 19+ funding recorded on the LSC allocations payment system (AMPs) from 2002/03 to the present indicative allocations for 2006/07. This has been set out for Further Education, Work Based Learning, and Adult and Community Learning. We have included the figures for 2001/02 assuming these were the same as 2002/03. There may be some small variation in the actual level of 2001/02 allocations, which could be verified if required.
	Funding allocations relating to adult education prior to the LSC would require searching the TEC records for WBL contracts, FEFC for further education and the DfES for Adult and Community Learning.
	
		Wandsworth -- 
		
			 Sector 2006/07(30) 2005/06 2004/05 2003/04 2002/03 2001/02(31) 
		
		
			 Work based learning   
			 RW Rechere 15,000 15,000 10,000 0 0 0 
			 LB of Wandsworth 19,000 19,000 35,000 36,000 29,873 18,201 
			 South Thames College 28,754 29,987 36,802 37,829 29,307 30,000 
			 Jace 128,000 128,000 112,000 120,000 76,911 78,227 
			 Total 190,754 191,987 193,802 193,829 136,091 126,428 
			
			 Further education   
			 South Thames College 11,546,996 12,000,568 11,902,864 10,801,014 10,155,823 10,155,823 
			 St. Francis Xavier 118,917 125,543 142,404 132,000 119,800 119,800 
			 Total 11,665,913 12,126,111 12,045,268 10,933,014 10,275,623 10,275,623 
			
			 Adult and community learning   
			 LSC funds through LB Wandsworth, including family and  Neighbourhood learning programmes 1,783,749 1,908,715 1,907,390 1,838,354 1,736,892 1,736,892 
			
			 Grand total 13.,640,416 14,226,813 14,146,460 12,965,197 12,148,606 12,138,943 
			
			 All year total 79,266,435  
		
	
	(30)Indicative.
	(31)Assumed allocations prior to LSC AMPs records.

Asbestos Insulating Board

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will issue interim guidance to schools warning of the potential dangers of inserting drawing pins and staples into asbestos insulating board in walls and ceilings, and advising that the practice should cease immediately, pending the final recommendations of the Working Group on Action to Control Chemicals; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 19 April 2006
	Following the advice of the Working Group on Action to Control Chemicals we will shortly be updating our asbestos webpage at www.teachernet.gov.uk/asbestos and issuing a communication to schools. The communication will include unqualified interim guidance to schools not to pin or staple materials to asbestos insulating board in walls or ceilings. The Group identified that this practice produces a risk to teachers and pupils and is an avoidable activity. HSE have advised that under the precautionary principle this activity must stop and that local authorities and governing bodies will need to notify staff not to damage walls and ceilings in this way if asbestos is present.

Brokerage Services

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the cost of brokerage services to be provided from August to link employers needing training to their most appropriate provider.

Phil Hope: General brokerage support that will support businesses through their Information, Diagnostic and Brokerage (IDB) role is funded by the DTI via the Regional Development Agency. Skills Brokers will receive funding from the Learning and Skills Council. The cost of brokerage is within the overall funding set aside for the National Employer Training Programme and the amounts will vary regionally dependent upon the regional priorities and the current capacity of the network. Detailed information on the estimated cost of brokerage services is not held centrally by the Department. Mark Haysom, LSC chief executive, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his letter has been placed in the House Library.
	Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 19 April 2006
	I am writing in response to your recent parliamentary question about estimating the costs of the brokerage service which will link employers to the most appropriate provider.
	The Train to Gain skills brokerage service is planned to cost a total of 66 million for the period April 2006 to March 2008 and engage with 85,000 employers in training their workforce. The LSC is specifically focusing skills brokers on employers who have not traditionally invested in the skills of their workforce. Brokers will support them in identifying how investing in the skills of their workforce can benefit their business and then help source high quality training to support those skills needs.

Child Protection

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether there are serving headteachers on List 99.

Ruth Kelly: My Department does not hold the information requested.
	List 99 is a confidential document which contains the personal details of people whose employment by a local education authority, school or in other relevant employment has been barred or restricted by the Secretary of State under section 142 of the 2002 Education Act.
	Employers have to check the list to make sure they do not appoint someone to a post from which they have been barred. Since 2000 only total bars have been made and no partial restrictions. A person whose employment has been restricted by the Secretary of State may only work in a post which does not contravene the terms of their restriction. I should also point out that further checks, in addition to List 99, should be undertaken before a teacher is appointed. The fact that an individual is not barred cannot in isolation imply their suitability for a post.
	As I set out in my statement of 19 January, Sir Roger Singleton's expert panel will review all cases involving a sexual offence or allegation which resulted in a decision not to include in List 99, or which resulted in a restriction or partial bar.

Child Protection

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have been (a) referred to and (b) included on the (i) Protection of Children Act 1999 list and (ii) the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list since 8 January; and how many of these referrals have been cases of individuals previously referred to each list but not previously included on them.

Ruth Kelly: Decisions to employ individuals in regulated child care settings are a matter for individual employers. There are strong safeguards in place. For example, enhanced CRB checks are mandatory and provide important protection revealing whether any individual has any past police cautions or convictions as well as other local police information.
	Since 8 January, 44 people have been referred to the Protection of Children Act list. Of these 44 none has so far been included as the cases are on-going. One has been referred to Protection of Children Act list previously but not included. No one provisionally listed on the Protection of Children Act list is able to work with children while their cases are being examined.
	Since 8 January 13 people have been included on Protection of Children Act list all of which are from referrals made before that date.
	Matters to do with the Protection of Vulnerable Adults are for my colleague, the Secretary of State for Health.
	The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill will introduce a new vetting and barring scheme which will strengthen the system still further.

China (Inter-country Adoption)

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in resolving the dispute with the Chinese Government overthe terms of the standard letter of no objection for inter-country adoption; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: We understand that there are several British expatriates living in China and wanting to adopt through the Chinese domestic system. The Chinese Government has asked for a certificate confirming that these persons are suitable to adopt. In the absence of an assessment completed by an adoption agency in accordance with UK law, it is not possible for the Government to confirm to the Chinese authorities the suitability of such a person to be an adoptive parent. If a certificate were issued without a thorough assessment, this might result in the placement of a child with a person who has not been assessed and approved to adoptand who could be manifestly unsuitable. Without a certificate, however, the Chinese Government will not allow British expatriates to adopt.
	We have agreed to work with the Chinese Government to find a mutually agreeable form of words that do not amount to an assurance of a person's suitability to adopt but would satisfy Chinese law. Although this is taking longer than originally hoped, significant progress has been made and we remain hopeful of bringing this matter to a successful conclusion.

Departmental Staff

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of (a) staff and (b) new staff employed in (i)her Department and (ii) each of the agencies for which she has responsibility were registered as disabled in each of the last three years for which data are available.

Maria Eagle: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the civil service by Department. These include data on the number of staff in Departments who have declared a disability.
	Declaration of a disability is voluntary.
	The latest available information at April 2004 is available in the Library and on the civil service website and the following addresses:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/publications/xls/disability_apr04_4nov04.xls
	for data relating to 1 April 2004, and
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/archive/index.asp
	for previous reporting periods.
	The number and proportion of new staff employed in my Department who declared a disability in each of the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			  Number Percentage 
		
		
			 2005/06 (32) 2 
			 2004/05 (32) 1 
			 2003/04 6 2 
		
	
	(32)In accord with civil service guidelines for disclosing equality data, numbers below 6 are not shown.

Education Maintenance Allowance

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in Easington constituency are in receipt of the education maintenance allowance.

Maria Eagle: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate education maintenance allowances for the DfES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 19 April 2006
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked how many pupils in Easington constituency are in receipt of the education maintenance allowance?
	Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and received EMA is available at local education authority (LEA) level, but not at constituency level. By the end of February 2006,4,201 young people in the Durham LEA area had received one or more EMA payments in the academic year 2005/06.
	I hope this information is helpful and addresses your question.

Educational Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of progress made by schools in (a) deprived areas and (b) affluent areas in raising educational standards since 199697; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: We have seen significant progress in the narrowing of the attainment gap at GCSE between schools in deprived and affluent areas, compared with the situation in 199697. The Excellence in Cities (EiC) programme and excellence clusters were introduced in 1999 and 2000, respectively, to target areas of significant deprivation. Between 2001, the year in which the 3rd phase of EiC began, and 2005, the percentage of pupils achieving 5+A*-C at GCSE/GNVQ and equivalents in EiC areas increased by nearly 10 percentage points, rising from 39.8 percentage in 2001, to 49.4 percent (provisional) in 2005. The rate of improvement in non-EiC schools over the same period was around 5percentage points, rising from 52.2 per cent. in 2001 to 57 percent (provisional) in 2005.
	As shown in the following table, performance data also indicate that the schools with the highest proportions of disadvantaged pupils, as assessed by free school meal (FSM) entitlement, have made more improvement than those with the lowest proportions. This improvement is evident, both at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 in English and Maths; and at GCSE/GNVQ.
	
		Improvements in attainment made by low and high FSM schools between 1996 and 2004 across key stage tests
		
			  Schools with Low FSM Improvement in attainment between 19962004 (percentage) Schools with High FSM Improvement in attainment between 19962004 (percentage) 
		
		
			 KS2 English L4+ threshold 8% or less pupils eligible for FSM 14 50% or more pupils eligible for FSM 28 
			 KS2 Maths L4+ threshold 8% or less pupils eligible for FSM 14 50% or more pupils eligible for FSM 28 
			 KS3 English L5+ threshold 5% or less pupils eligible for FSM 10 50% or more pupils eligible for FSM 19 
			 KS3 Maths L5+ threshold 5% or less pupils eligible for FSM 10 50% or more pupils eligible for FSM 27 
			 GCSE/GNVQ 5+ A*C threshold 5% or less pupils eligible for FSM 5 50% or more pupils eligible for FSM 15

Employer Training Pilots

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2006, Official Report, column 995W, on employer training pilots, which organisations from the (a) private and (b) public sector with over 250 staff participated in the employer training pilots in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and how many trainees in each sector took part in the pilots in each year.

Phil Hope: The information requested is not held centrally by the Department, but is collected by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Mark Haysom, LSC chief executive, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Library.
	Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 13 April 2006
	I am writing in response to your recent parliamentary question on the Employer Training Pilots during 200405.
	Please find attached a table setting out the number of private and public sector employers who participated in the pilots and have more than 250 employees. The table also provides figures on the number of trainees who participated by sector in the pilots during 200405.
	We are unable provide details of individual employers participating in ETP without first obtaining permission to do so from each employer.
	I hope this response is helpful to you.
	
		
			 Employer type Employees Employers Learners 
		
		
			 2004
			 Private   80,338 
			  1 to 49 7,178 34,391 
			  50 to 249 2,107 25,034 
			  250 or greater 1,371 20,913 
			 
			 Public   13,277 
			  1 to 49 690 3,154 
			  50 to 249 250 1,786 
			  250 or greater 433 8,337 
			 2005
			 Private   89,972 
			  1 to 49 7,828 34,435 
			  50 to 249 2,483 26,568 
			  250 or greater 1,755 28,969 
			 
			 Public   15,878 
			  1 to 49 710 2,627 
			  50 to 249 281 2,562 
			  250 or greater 550 10,689

Head Teachers/Principals

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacancies there were on average for headteacher positions in (a) Kingston upon Hull and (b) Hull, North constituency in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The following table gives the number of full-time head teacher vacancies in maintained schools in The City of Kingston Upon Hull local authority and England, in each January 1997 to 2005, the latest information available.
	Information on teacher vacancies is not available at constituency level.
	
		Full-time head teacher vacancies(33) in maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools, January 1997 to 2005
		
			  Local authority 
			  City of Kingston upon Hull (34) England 
		
		
			 1997 0 180 
			 1998 1 250 
			 1999 1 250 
			 2000 0 230 
			 2001 0 190 
			 2002 0 170 
			 2003 1 130 
			 2004 0 120 
			 2005 0 170 
		
	
	(33)Advertised vacancies for permanent appointments (or appointments of at least one term's duration). Posts filled by somebody on a contract of a term or more are not counted as being vacant.
	(34)England figures have been provided to help put local authority figures into perspective.
	Figures for England are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	DfES annual survey of teacher numbers and vacancies, 618g

Head Teachers/Principals

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether (a) the Government or (b) local education authorities can direct a school governing body to dismiss a head teacher.

Jacqui Smith: In almost all circumstances the dismissal of a head teacher is a matter for the governing body of the school. However, in exceptional circumstances, there is limited scope for this decision to be taken in conjunction with the local authority, or at their suggestion. This may happen when the school's delegated budget has been suspended or it is determined that the head teacher has failed to secure the National Professional Qualification for Headship within set limits. Additionally, in the most extreme circumstances the Government can become directly involved. Where it can be clearly shown that a governing body has acted illegally in not dismissing a head teacher, the Secretary of State has the power under Section 496 and 497 of the Education Act 1996 to intervene and direct the Governing Body to dismiss the head teacher.

Head Teachers/Principals

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether primary legislation will be needed in order for learning and skills councils to direct a governing body of a further education college to dismiss the principal.

Bill Rammell: Yes. This power does not currently exist. We plan to bring forward legislation to give the Learning and Skills Council powers to do this.

Liverpool Learning Service

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on (a) the finances of and (b) the redundancy programme announced at the Liverpool Learning Service.

Phil Hope: The responsibility for the finances and staffing of the Liverpool Adult Learning Service rests with Liverpool City Council. Overall we have made clear in the White Paper, Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances that our priorities for the funding of adult learning are high quality learning opportunities targeted at those who need help mostadults without effective literacy and numeracy or without the employability skills embodied in a first full Level 2 qualification. It is the responsibility of the Learning and Skills Council to meet these national priorities in the light of local needs, ensuring that it only contracts for good quality provision.

Neighbourhood Learning in Deprived Communities Fund

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has undertaken into the social profile of people accessing learning provided through the Neighbourhood Learning in Deprived Communities Fund.

Phil Hope: Although there is no specific research on the social profile of people accessing learning provided through the Neighbourhood Learning in Deprived Communities (NLDC), by its very nature money is targeted at the poorest neighbourhoods in the country to reduce worklessness and crime and to improve the health, housing and physical environment of local residents. It is an important part of a suite of programmes designed to support successful regeneration. In 2004/5 the NLDC funded 30,000 new learners on programmes including 13,000 helped into Skills for Life provision.

Pupil Referral Units

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of pupil referral units; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Evidence on the effectiveness of pupil referral units is available, as for other schools, from inspections undertaken by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). The latest Ofsted Annual Report, published in October 2005, found that 25 of the 38 pupil referral units inspected in 2004/05, 25 were good or better, providing effectively for the young people they serve. Of the remaining 13 units, 10 were found to be satisfactory and three were unsatisfactory. Ofsted also found that the quality of teaching was good or better in 29 of the units, and unsatisfactory in only one, that the units generally provided a curriculum that meets the particular needs of their pupils, and that the quality of accommodation in units continues to improve. Subject to parliamentary assent, the measures within the Education and Inspections Bill will require local authorities to take faster and more decisive action to turn round schools in special measures or requiring significant improvement. These expectations will also apply to pupil referral units which fail an Ofsted inspection.
	We are also undertaking research on alternative provision generally which will identify examples of good practice which we will disseminate.

School Exclusions

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils have left school due to permanent exclusion in West Lancashire constituency since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The number of permanent exclusions from maintained primary and secondary schools in West Lancashire constituency from 1996/97 to 2003/04 is given in the table.
	Figures for the number of permanent exclusions during 2004/05 academic year should be available in June 2006.
	
		Maintained Primary and Secondary Schools: Number of Permanent Exclusions 1996/97 to 2003/04West Lancashire Parliamentary Constituency
		
			  Number of permanent exclusions 
			  Primary Secondary 
			  Number (35) Percentage Number (35) Percentage 
		
		
			 1996/97 4 0.04 13 0.21 
			 1997/98 (36) (36) 13 0.21 
			 1998/99 (36) (36) 15 0.24 
			 1999/2000 (36) (36) 11 0.17 
			 2000/01(37) (36) (36) 13 0.21 
			 2001/02(37) 3 0.03 19 0.30 
			 2002/03(37) 0 0.00 23 0.37 
			 2003/04(37) (36) (36) 20 0.32 
		
	
	(35)The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the total number of pupils on the school roll in January of the same school year. Excludes dually registered pupils.
	(36)1 or 2 exclusions, or a rate based on 1 or 2 exclusions.
	(37)There are known quality issues with exclusions data for these years. Figures shown here are as reported by schools but are unconfirmed and should be used with caution.
	Source: Annual Schools Census.

School Exclusions

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the effect on schools which lose funding when children are excluded; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: We have made no specific assessment of the effect on schools of losing funds when children are permanently excluded. The principle is well established that funding must follow a permanently excluded pupil to their new education provider to ensure that the pupil's education continues. The amount that transfers from the school is calculated according to a formula which is set out in regulations. Local authorities, however, may deduct an additional amount in accordance with discretionary arrangements made under their local funding formula. The Department does not control these local arrangements. The total amount that a school loses will depend on the factors included in any funding formulae and the date in the financial year when the exclusion takes effect.

Specialist Schools

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many specialist schools there were in (a) England and (b) Taunton constituency in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The following table shows the number of schools there were in (a) England and (b) Taunton constituency in each year between 1997 and March 2006.
	
		
			 Operational date England Taunton 
		
		
			 Pre 1997 149 0 
			 1997 223 1 
			 1998 306 3 
			 1999 383 3 
			 2000 519 4 
			 2001 670 4 
			 2002 977 4 
			 2003 1,440 7 
			 2004 1,949 7 
			 2005 2,379 7 
			 2006 2,502 7 
		
	
	All of the maintained secondary schools in Taunton constituency have achieved specialist school status.

Student Finance

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average debt incurred by students on leaving university was in the last year for which figures are available; what the average time taken to pay off the debt has been to date; and what assessment she has made of the impact of the student loan scheme on the application for university places from children from working-class homes.

Bill Rammell: In 200506, the average amount of publicly-owned student loan debt in the UK on reaching statutory repayment due date (SRDD) was 8,350. Borrowers reach SRDD in the April following graduation or otherwise leaving their course.
	The latest Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2004/05, which covered full-time and part-time undergraduate students in higher education institutions in England and Wales, found that full-time final year students' average anticipated total debt on graduation was 7,918 in 2004/05. Debt in this instance is defined as total borrowings offset with total savings. Borrowing included student loans, overdrafts, credit cards, commercial loans and informal loans.
	The average time to repay a mortgage style loan (primarily loans taken out before 1998), for all those who have fully repaid to date, is five years (figure to nearest whole year). This is based on the time taken from a student reaching their SRDD until the loan account is fully repaid. Customers who repay early before reaching their SRDD have, for the purposes of the analysis, been treated as having a repayment time of zero.
	It is too early in the scheme to provide a meaningful average for the time taken to repay an income contingent loan, as this scheme is relatively new and only 2 per cent. of these loan borrowers have repaid their loan in full to date.
	No specific assessment has been made of the impact solely of the student loan scheme on the application for university places by children from working class homes. However, the following table shows that the proportion of entrants from the lower socio-economic groups has increased steadily over time, a trend which continued during the period when tuition fees and income contingent loans were introduced.
	
		Proportion of young (under 21) UK domiciled entrants to full-time first degree courses at UK HEIs
		
			  Proportion of entrants to higher education from: 
			  State schools Lower social classes (IIIM, IV, V) Lower socio-economic groups (47) Low participation areas 
		
		
			 1997/98 81.8 24.9 n/a 12.1 
			 1998/99 85.0 25.1 n/a 12.3 
			 1999/2000 84.9 25.3 n/a 12.4 
			 2000/01 85.7 25.4 n/a 12.5 
			 2001/02 86.0 25.8 n/a 13.1 
			 2002/03 87.2 n/a 28.4 13.3 
			 2003/04 86.8 n/a 28.6 13.9 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	Note:
	The socio-economic group classification was introduced in 2002/03 to replace the social class groupings. The two classifications are not directly comparable.
	Source:
	Performance Indicators in Higher Education.
	Repayment of income contingent loans is linked to income after leaving university or college so that leavers only repay as and when they can afford to do so, and not until income is over 15,000 per year. Under the new system from 2006/07, students from low-income backgrounds will be entitled to a maintenance grant of up to 2,700 per year, and an institutional bursary of at least 300.

Sunday Trading

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the possible effects on (a) parental involvement in children's education and (b) parent-child contact time of easing or removing Sunday trading restrictions.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The DTI issued a press and website notice in January asking for views and evidence on all aspects of Sunday trading.

Teacher Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the employer contribution rates to the teachers' pension scheme are; what assumed rate of return underlies those contribution rates; and what the contribution rate would be if the assumed rate of return was in line with current redemption yield on index-linked gilts.

Bill Rammell: The employer contribution rate, as established at the 2001 valuation of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), is 13.5 per cent.
	The assumed rate of return methodology for the TPS is known as SCAPE (Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience). Instead of tracking the returns of invested pension funds, the method of crediting investment returns to the notional fund is now based on a rate of return which the Government Actuary advises as being appropriate for the valuation of a public service pension scheme. For the purpose of the 2001 valuation, the Government Actuary used a real rate of return of 3.5 per cent. per annum.
	It is not possible to estimate an employer contribution based on different rate of return assumptions because of the disproportionate cost.

Trust Schools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the powers of the sponsor will be in relation to trust schools; and what the equivalent powers are in relation to academies.

Jacqui Smith: A trust school will be a maintained foundation school that has acquired a charitable foundation or trust to help it improve standards for its children. Trusts must be incorporated charities with specified objects and characteristics. The role of trust partners, who may be voluntary or private sector organisations and can include local authorities, will be to set up the trust in accordance with the legal requirements and appoint trustees to carry out the trust's functions. The functions of the trust will be to appoint governors to the school and to hold assets on trust for the school. The school's governing bodywhich will include representatives of parents, staff, the local authority and the wider community as well as governors appointed by the trustwill retain day-to-day responsibility for the school. A trust school will not have sponsors as such, as there is no requirement for trust partners to contribute financially to the capital costs of the school as academy sponsors do.
	An academy is a state funded independent school set up as a company with charitable status. The academy principal sponsor is a member of the academy trust (company), appoints a number of further persons to the academy trust and also appoints sponsor governors, one of whom can be the principal sponsor him/herself. The maximum number of members of the academy trust and sponsor governors that can be appointed by the principal sponsor is specified in the academy's articles of association, in accordance with the funding agreement between the Secretary of State and academy trust,. The Governing Body has responsibility for running the academy on behalf of the academy trust.

World Cup (Complimentary Tickets)

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many complimentary tickets her Department has received for games taking place at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany.

Maria Eagle: To date and according to our records, the Department for Education and Skills has not received any complimentary tickets for World Cup matches taking place in Germany this summer. Departmental Ministers do not intend to attend any of the FIFA World Cup matches in Germany this year in an official capacity.

HEALTH

Ambulance Services

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that when three-star ambulance trusts are merged with other ambulance trusts the standards of the merged trust are equal to those of the existing three-star trust.

Liam Byrne: Should our proposals for reconfiguration of ambulance trusts proceed, the new ambulance trusts would still be required to meet national performance requirements. The new trusts would be expected to learn from and use best practice from the current trusts. Local innovations and successes would not only be preserved but also shared to benefit all patients.

Audiology Tests

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the average waiting time from a patient being referred by a GP to an audiologist and a hearing test taking place in the last period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The data requested is not centrally available.

Cancer

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was from diagnosis to first treatment for people from York diagnosed with (a) breast and (b) all cancers in (i) 1997 and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Average waiting times for the treatment of cancer patients are not collected centrally. A cancer waiting times standard of a maximum wait of 31 days from diagnosis to first cancer treatment was introduced for breast cancer from December 2001 and for all cancer patients from December 2005. Data for York Hospitals National Health Service Trust show that in the last quarter, October to December 2005, 100 per cent. of women with breast cancer and 97.2 per cent. of all cancer patients were treated within this standard. Data on cancer waiting times were not collected centrally in 1997.

Cancer

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent in improving cancer services in York since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally. Local health economies are responsible for determining how to use their resources to meet the health needs of their local population, including investment in cancer services. An exercise to track additional cancer investment carried out in 2005 showed that in 200304 there was new investment in cancer services across the Yorkshire cancer network of 2.669 million.

Cancer

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist cancer (a) doctors and (b) nurses were employed by the NHS in York in (i) 1997 and (ii) in the latest year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Hospital, Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services (HCHS): Doctors (38) working within the six main cancer specialties in North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire strategic health authority -- England at 30 September each yearNumber (headcount)
		
			   1997 2004 
		
		
			 England  5,180 7,597 
			 of which:
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern  Lincolnshire Q11 90 173 
			 of which:
			 York Hospitals National Health Service  Trust RGB 19 27 
			 Selby and York Primary Care Trust 5E2 0 2 
		
	
	(38)Doctors includes (among others) consultants, non-consultant career grades and doctors in training and equivalents.
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centremedical and dental workforce census

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in (a) Hull, North constituency and (b) Kingston-upon-Hull have had to wait more than (i) one month, (ii) two months and (iii)three months for an appointment with the child and adolescent mental health service in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally.

Cholesterol

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the percentage of adults in West Lancashire with high cholesterol levels.

Liam Byrne: The information is not available in the format requested. Data on cholesterol levels are available from the Health Survey for England (HSE). The most recent data available on cholesterol are for 2003, as this is the last year where the HSE focused on cardiovascular disease.
	The results in the table show the mean total cholesterol levels for adults for England and the North West Government Office Region, broken down by gender for 2003.
	
		Mean total cholesterol levels(39)of adults(40) (age standardised), by gender, England and North West Government Office Region, 2003 -- Aged 16 and over with a valid cholesterol measurement
		
			 Blood cholesterol (mmol/l) England North West 
		
		
			 Men 5.5 5.4 
			 Women 5.6 5.5 
			 Bases (weighted)   
			 Men 4,020 551 
			 Women 4,249 568 
		
	
	(39)Include people on lipid-regulating drugs.
	(40)Adults aged 16 and over.
	All blood sample data are weighted for non-response with a weight specifically applied to all those whose gave a blood sample.
	Source:
	Health Survey for England 2003. Department of Health

Choose and Book System

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the letter from her Department's Director of Access of 26 January 2006, on Choose and Book, which NHS trusts are unable to implement an integrated patient administration systems solution; for what reasons these Trusts are unable to do so; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: For valid technical or commercial reasons, a small number of national health service trusts are currently not expected to be able to achieve a fully compliant integrated solution during 2006. Details are shown in the table.
	
		
			 NHS Trust Detail 
		
		
			 Gateshead Health NHS Trust  
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Current PAS supplier has no plans to make a compliant system 
			 Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust  
			 Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust  
			 Clatterbridge Center for Oncology NHS Trust As a specialist hospital receiving mostly tertiary referrals, no plans to move to a compliant PAS 
			 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust  
			 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital  
			 Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust Current PAS cannot be made compliant but plan indicates that the local 
			 Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust service provider's PAS will be available for Choose and Book in March 2007 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust  
			 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals Trust  
			 Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases Very low volume booking so business case for moving to integrated PAS is not viable 
		
	
	In due course, a fully compliant integrated solution will be implemented in these trusts. In the meantime, the choose and book indirectly bookable services' solution will be utilised.

Choose and Book System

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons her Department's aims of achieving 90 per cent. of general practitioner referrals through Choose and Book by the end of December 2006 have been postponed to March 2007.

Liam Byrne: The end point of March 2007 for getting to 90 per cent. of referrals made through choose and book aligns the objective with the incentives contained within the 200607 general practitioner contract, the negotiations for which were recently concluded between NHS Employers and the British Medical Association.

Choose and Book System

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to encourage greater uptake by general practitioners of the choose and book IT system.

Liam Byrne: The Department is taking a number of steps to encourage greater uptake by general practitioners (GPs) of the choose and book service. A key step is the newly agreed general medical services contract, which will reward general practices, through a directed enhanced service payment, for utilisation of the choose and book service.
	Over 210,000 GP referrals have been made through choose and book to date with over 3,800 GP practices having made at least one referral as at 21 March 2006.

Consultancy Fees

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost to her Department of consultancy fees in relation to (a) restructuring and (b) private finance initiatives has been since 1997.

Liam Byrne: pursuant to the reply, 27 March 2006, c.78384W
	I regret that my previous reply was incorrect. It should read as follows:
	The Department does not collect information that would allow for an analysis of the consultants engaged in restructuring and could not obtain this information without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The total spend on consultancy work directly related to private finance initiative in each year is shown in the table.
	
		
		
			 Financial year Cost 
		
		
			 19992000 108,824 
			 200001 60,379 
			 200102 168,277 
			 200203 207,171 
			 200304 892,859 
			 200405 89,698 
			 2005 to date 47,856

Dentistry

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in North Dorset constituency have declined the NHS dentist contract; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 20 April 2006
	Information on the number of dentists who have declined to provide national health service dental services from 1 April 2006 is not yet available centrally.
	Provisional management estimates on the number of accepted and rejected contracts are available centrally. These show that, as at the start of April in North Dorset Primary Care Trust (PCT), 14 contracts had been accepted and three contracts had been rejected.
	The contract numbers do not read across to numbers of individual dentists who may have agreed or rejected contracts. Contracts can be at practice or individual dentist level. Typically, many of the accepted contracts are with practices covering a number of dentists, whereas rejected contracts are more likely to be for individual practitioners.
	In North Dorset PCT, the rejected contracts represent an estimated 7.1 per cent. of the total NHS services represented by all the contracts offered by this PCT, based on weighted courses of treatment or units of dental activity.
	PCTs are using the funding associated with rejected contracts to commission additional services from other dentists. The information available centrally does not include any services commissioned since the information given above was collected at the start of April.

Dentistry

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists are practising in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster; and how many of these have not signed the new NHS dental contract.

Liam Byrne: Figures are not yet available at a primary care trust level. 198 national health service dental contracts have been signed in the South Yorkshire strategic health authority (SHA) area, and six contracts have been rejected. The signed contracts account for 99 per cent. of NHS dental service in the SHA.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on external consultants and advisers by (a) her Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which her Department is responsible and (c) each independent statutory body, organisation and body financially sponsored by her Department in each year since May 1997.

Liam Byrne: The total cost of external consultancy services procured by the Department, where in-house resources were not available, is shown in the table.
	
		000
		
			  Cost 
		
		
			 19992000 8,718 
			 200001 6,852 
			 200102 7,056 
			 200203 7,266 
			 200304 10,031 
			 200405 12,800 
			 200506 to date (41)4,658 
		
	
	(41)The 200506 spend is lower because the Department has rectified some miscoding against the expenditure category codes to provide a more accurate figure of external consultancy spend to 31 January 2006.
	Note:
	Information is not available prior to 19992000.
	The Department holds no central record of spend on external consultancy services by non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, independent statutory bodies or organisations financially sponsored by the Department. The annual accounts for these organisations may include expenditure on consultants; copies of accounts can be obtained from individual organisations.

Departmental Policies

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the West Lancashire constituency, the effects in West Lancashire of changes to her Department's policies since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the West Lancashire constituency.
	For example:
	At the end of February 2006, the number of people waiting more than six to eight months for in-patient treatment within West Lancashire Primary Care Trust (PCT) had fallen to zero from 530 in June 2002;
	At the end of December 2005, the number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for out-patient treatment within West Lancashire PCT had fallen to zero from 597 in June 2002;
	Figures for December 2005 show that all patients within West Lancashire PCT are able to be offered an appointment with a primary care professional within two working days, an improvement from 64.7 per cent. in June 2002;
	West Lancashire PCTs financial allocation increased to 136.4 million for 200607, a real terms increase of 6.3 per cent.;
	In June 2003, at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 92.9 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency (AE) from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. Figures for December 2005 show an improvement to 99.4 per cent.;
	Between September 2000 and June 2005, the number of consultants at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust has increased from 81 to 87. The number of nurses increased from 895 to 910;
	In the West Lancashire local authority (LA) area, death rates from cancer per 100,000 population have fallen to 177.5 in 2003 from 193.4 in 1997;
	In the West Lancashire LA area death rates from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population have fallen to 124.7 in 2003 from 168.5 in 1997;
	A NHS treatment centre at a cost of 3.8 million opened in 2004 in Ormskirk. The centre provides 3,400 surgical procedures;
	Ormskirk General Hospital has new services totalling 17 million NHS capital:
	treatment centre offering urology out-patients, endoscopy, minor and day surgery and pain services;
	12 bed antenatal ward, eight bed delivery suite and 22 bed postnatal ward;
	neonatal unit of 12 cots with intensive care nursery; and
	new paediatric services including dedicated AE department, 28 bed children's ward and children's out-patient department.
	Two additional wards at Southport Hospital and
	A replacement magnetic resonance imaging scanner for Southport and Formby District General Hospital.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls received by NHS Direct were on diabetes-related issues in each of the last three years.

Liam Byrne: This information is not centrally held. It may be available from NHS Direct Special Health Authority and the hon. Member may wish to contact the Chairman of NHS Direct for details.

Grievance Procedures

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many grievance procedures have been initiated in the Department in each of the last three years.

Liam Byrne: The Department has records of eight grievances in 2005. For reasons of confidentiality, the number of cases has been suppressed for 2006. None was initiated in 2004.

Harassment Complaints

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints of (a) bullying and (b) sexual harassment have been investigated in the Department in each of the last three years; and how many complaints have been upheld.

Liam Byrne: The information requested on complaints of bullying is suppressed on grounds of confidentiality. There have been no complaints of sexual harassment.

Health Services (North Northamptonshire)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions her Department has had with the growth areas directorate in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister concerning additional provision of NHS health care in North Northamptonshire.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has had no direct discussions with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister concerning additional provision of national health service health care in North Northamptonshire. However, the Department has regular six-monthly meetings with the growth area team at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Health Treatment Centres

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for the expansion of independent sector treatment centres.

Liam Byrne: There are 15 contracts currently under way for the provision of 30 independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) facilities, with the remainder being fully operational during 2006 and 2007. A second phase of procurement was launched in March 2005 and this additional capacity will be provided through a variety of facilities, such as existing ISTCs, newbuild centres, refurbishments and existing national health service facilities over the next five years.

Hearing Aids

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the 18 week waiting target will apply to those applying for a digital hearing aid who currently have an analogue one.

Liam Byrne: The Department is considering the results of a recent listening exercise on the principles and definitions to govern the 18-week pathway. In the light of comments received, we will publish conclusions shortly.

Infant Formula

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's policy is on trials of infant formula with particular reference to the Patch test; what guidance she has issued to hospitals on their role in recruiting mothers for such trials; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 14 February 2006
	While the Department does not issue guidance to hospitals on their role in recruiting mothers for such trials, the dignity, rights, safety and wellbeing of participants must be the primary concern in any research study.
	The Department is legally required to ensure that independent research ethics committees are in place to approve research proposals, which involve national health service patients, their organs, tissues or data, to ensure that the studies comply with recognised national and international ethical standards.

Malnutrition

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what responsibility (a) GPs, (b) district nurses and (c) care workers have in (i) monitoring older patients for malnutrition and (ii) introducing measures to combat malnutrition;
	(2)  which health and social care workers have responsibility for identifying and implementing action to combat malnutrition in people over the age of 65 (a) in primary care, (b) in care homes, (c) who are hospital in-patients and (d) who are hospital out-patients; and what action she is taking to implement this policy.

Liam Byrne: The primary responsibility for monitoring the health of individuals, including their nutritional status, rests with clinicians.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 28 June 2005, Official Report, column 1523W, which stated that, it is the responsibility of the appropriate regulatory bodies that set standards for health and social care education and training to determine how much knowledge registrants require of specific health and social care issues such as nutrition and malnutrition.
	The General Medical Council for example, requires that all pre-registration house officers must demonstrate competence across a range of factors, including nutrition in considering treatment options they discuss with patients. The Nursing and Midwifery Council also stress the need for specialist community public health nurses to understand, among other things, the importance of nutrition.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the National Collaborating Centre for Acute Care published a clinical guideline on 21 February 2006 to help the national health service identify patients, who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.

Mary Seacole Award

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding (a) NHS Employers and (b) the Department of Health has provided for the Mary Seacole Leadership and Development Awards since their inception; what the aims of the awards are; and whether similar leadership and development opportunities are available to non-black and minority ethnic NHS staff.

Liam Byrne: Since their inception in 199495, the Department has provided funding of 25,000 annually for the Mary Seacole Leadership Awards. From 200607, these awards will become the Mary Seacole Leadership and Development Awards, with additional funding of 25,000 being provided by NHS Employers.
	The awards are focused on nurses, midwives and health visitors in clinical and professional practice in the national health service in England. They contribute to positive action that the Department and partner NHS organisations take in order to help black and minority ethnic NHS staff develop their careers in the NHS. The context for this is the difficulties that some black and minority ethnic staff experience in this regard and which do not apply in the same way to other groups.

Maternal and Child Health

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the findings of the confidential enquiry into maternal and child health to be published; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The confidential enquiry into maternal and child health runs a series of programmes which report at different times. It plans to publish its annual perinatal mortality monitoring report for 2005 by the end of 2006.

Medical Students (Jobs)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of (a) the number of medical students without jobs allocated from August 2006 and the reasons for delay in allocations, (b) the effectiveness of the Multi-Deanery Appointment process and (c) the number of 2006 medical graduates that will not have jobs as junior doctors by 1 August 2006.

Liam Byrne: Recruitment to foundation programmes in August 2006 is a two stage processto date only stage one has been completed.
	In the first round of applications, over 5,000 candidates were matched to posts. A small number of applicants, including about 465 United Kingdom applicants, will need to go through a second stage of the recruitment process. There are about 490 vacancies available in the second round.
	The multi-deanery appointment process is a computer system designed to handle the many applications received by postgraduate deans. For the 2006 recruitment round it was adopted by eight out of 14 deaneries in England. It is not intended to make decisions on, or score, applicants. This is done by senior doctors.
	We are confident that there are enough Foundation places for all UK graduates in good standing.

Multiple Sclerosis

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many multiple sclerosis patients have commenced beta interferon and glatiramer treatment in the West Lancashire area in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: There have been no prescriptions for either of these preparations during the period March 2001 to February 2006 (the most recent data available) by prescribers in West Lancashire Primary Care Trust.

NHS and Mental Establishments (Visits)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the (a) mental health and (b) NHS establishments she has visited in the last six months; and on what days she visited them.

Liam Byrne: pursuant to the reply, 27 March 2006, c.798W
	I regret my previous reply was incomplete. It should read as follows:
	The Secretary of State visited the following national health service establishments in the last six months:
	Highgate Mental Health Trust18 October 2005
	The Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust18 October 2005
	The Gateway Surgical Centre15 November 2005
	Homerton University Hospital Foundation Trust24 December 2005
	The James Wigg Practice13 January 2006
	Liverpool Street Commuter Walk in Centre24 January 2006
	Merrydale Primary Care Centre3 February 2006
	Barts and the London NHS Trust8 March 2006
	The Thelma Golding Health centre15 March 2006

NHS Direct

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the policy of NHS Direct is on confidentiality in cases where a caller discloses information that may suggest that a crime has been committed.

Liam Byrne: NHS Direct considers any such instances on a case-by-case basis, in line with the principles of the Caldicott Committee report on the review of patient identifiable information 1997 and Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice 2003.
	Copies of both documents are available from the Department's website at:
	Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practicewww.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/06/92/54/04069254.pdf.
	Caldicott Committee Reportwww.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/06/84/04/04068404.pdf.

NHS Expenditure

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what initial estimate was made of the cost to the NHS of (a) the new contract for consultants, (b) the new contract for GPs and (c) the Agenda for Change reforms in (i) 200506 and (ii) 200607; and what her latest estimate is of the costs in each case.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 30 March 2006
	The consultant contract was a three-year deal. It was costed on a methodology agreed with the British Medical Association. On that basis, the estimated cost of the contract (and the funding provided) was 133 million in 200304 rising to 250 million in 200506. In late 2004, we adjusted the tariff for 200506 by 150 million in response to suggestions from the service that there was a further cost pressure. However, our national survey, published in February 2005 and based on returns from 95 per cent. of trusts on the position as at 29 October 2004, indicated that the actual additional cost to the service was around 90 million.
	The new contract for general practitioners was backed by a guaranteed 36 per cent. increase in resources in England, rising from 5 billion in 200203 to 6.8 billion in 200506. The overall increase in resources is now forecast to be more than 40 per cent. for the three-year period, equating to spend on primary medical care services of around 7.6 billion in 200506. For 200607, the equivalent forecast cost is 7.9 billion.
	The agreed funding envelope for agenda for change in 200506 and 200607 was 950 million and 1.4 billion respectively. It is estimated that in the first 12 months direct earnings costs exceeded those originally estimated by 0.5 per cent. of the agenda for change pay bill, or around 120 million in cash terms. In the same period, it is estimated that the indirect earnings costs of replacing additional hours and leave arising from agenda for change exceeded those originally estimated by some 100 million.

NHS Finance (Hospitals)

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account is taken of the variation of fixed capital costs in the formulae for funding NHS hospital trusts through payment by results.

Liam Byrne: The national tariff is currently based on average reference costs, which are calculated from individual returns from every national health service trust, NHS foundation trust and primary care trust which provides services. NHS reference costs are based on a full absorption methodology and therefore include cost of capital. In addition, the annual tariff uplift includes an assessment of the increase in statutory capital charges payable and charges payable on new private finance initiative investments.

NHS Redress Scheme

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the fifth report of session 200506 from the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee on Compensation culture: NHS Redress Bill, what the basis is for her Department's view that only genuine cases will be eligible for the redress scheme and that the vast majority of opportunistic claims will be easily rejected.

Jane Kennedy: There are a number of criteria which must be satisfied before a case may be eligible for the NHS redress scheme and these are clearly laid out in the Bill. The criteria include that:
	the case must involve a liability in tort under the law of England and Wales arising out of qualifying services provided as part of the NHS in England;
	the liability is in respect of personal injury or loss arising out of a breach of a duty of care in relation to the diagnosis of illness or the care or treatment of any patient; and
	the liability must arise as a consequence of any act or omission by a health care professional.
	The scheme to be established under the powers in the Bill will not create any new legal rights; the scheme only provides a basis for settling claims where existing qualifying liabilities arise. It is a way for individuals who have low monetary value claims to seek redress without having to go to court. Under the scheme, the same tests for negligence will be applied to cases as are applied under current tort law.
	If patients do not wish to use the NHS redress scheme or if an offer is not made, or is rejected, their right to pursue a claim through the courts will remain in being, unaffected by the scheme.

Patient Transfers

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Department of Health Winter Report 200506, page 18, how many critically ill patients have been transferred between hospitals for non-clinical reasons in each year since 2000.

Liam Byrne: Statistics on the total number of critically ill patients transferred for non-clinical reasons are not collected centrally. However, self-reported management information received by the Department does indicate that the number of transfers was significantly lower in 2005 than in 2000 and critical care bed capacity has increased significantly since 2000.

Payment-by-results

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals she identified before the introduction of payment by results as being at risk of deficits as a result of its introduction; and what percentage deficit she expected for each one.

Liam Byrne: The movement from local prices to a national tariff means that the income of most national health service providers will change. We undertook an exercise to estimate changes in income for organisations to inform the transition from local prices to national tariff. Transitional arrangements channel extra funds into organisations which lose income under payment by results, to give them time to adjust to the new arrangements.

Pension Provision

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of expenditure by the NHS is accounted for by the cost of pension provision.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 March 2006
	Pension contributions made by employers amount to 14 per cent. of the pensionable payroll. This equates to 5.3 per cent. of gross departmental expenditure on the national health service in 200405.

Pension Provision

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual cost of pensions is for (a) general medical practitioners, (b) consultants and (c) NHS staff covered by Agenda for Change.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 March 2006
	The information requested is not available centrally.

Pension Provision

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated increase in the level of pensions is that will be payable on retirement on average to (a) GPs as a result of the new contract, (b) consultants under their new contract and (c) other NHS staff as a result of Agenda for Change.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 March 2006
	The information is not available in the form requested.

Pension Provision

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the estimated additional accrued pension liability to the NHS is as a result of the (a) GPs' new contract, (b) consultants' new contract and (c) Agenda for Change;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the potential impact of new contracts (a) for GPs, (b) for consultants and (c) under Agenda for Change on the cost of pensions for the NHS; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 March 2006
	The information requested is not available, but the Government's actuary Department has valued the total liabilities of the NHS Pension Scheme as at 31 March 2005 to be 127.9 billion. They are in the process of preparing a detailed actuarial valuation of the scheme as at 31 March 2004 which will be published later this year which will include analysis of the factors leading to any change in valuation.

Pension Provision

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the additional funding for the NHS in each year since 1999 has been absorbed by the increase in the cost of pensions.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 March 2006
	The NHS pension scheme is revalued periodically to take account of overall scheme liabilities. The last valuation was based on 1999 data, and a further valuation, based on 2004 data will be completed shortly. Contribution rates have not therefore increased in this period as a result of changes to scheme liabilities. A change was however made in employer contributions in 2004 to take account of the transfer of responsibility for the indexation of national health service pensions, together with the associated funding, from HM Treasury to the NHS.

Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been collected from doctors by the Postgraduate Medical and Education Training Board since its creation.

Liam Byrne: The postgraduate medical education training board as of 28 March 2006 has collected 1,585,315 from doctors since its creation.

Potters Bar Community Hospital

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds are not available for the treatment of patients at Potters Bar Community Hospital.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Prostate Cancer

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when cryotherapy treatment was approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for use in early prostate cancer; where in the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight strategic health authority area such treatment is available; and on what date the treatment became available in each case.

Caroline Flint: In November 2005, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued interventional procedure guidance on the use of cryotherapy as a primary (first) treatment for prostate cancer. The guidance concluded that the current evidence appeared to support the use of this treatment provided that normal arrangements are in place for consent, audit and clinical governance.
	NICE also recommended that further research and audit of this treatment should address quality of life, clinical outcomes and long-term survival.
	Cryotherapy treatment is not available in national health service organisations in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight strategic health authority area.

Radiotherapy

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact on patients' prognoses of delays in the commencement of radiotherapy treatment; and what steps she plans to take to speed up the commencement of treatment for those patients requiring radiotherapy.

Rosie Winterton: Data on waiting times for radiotherapy are not collected centrally, nor is the impact of delays in radiotherapy treatment. We know from a recent audit by the Royal College of Radiologists, that waiting times for radiotherapy in some parts of the country are unacceptably long but that the situation is improving. The NHS Cancer Plan sets out maximum waiting time targets for cancer treatment which may include radiotherapy where this is given as a first definitive treatment. From December 2005, there is a maximum two-month wait from urgent referral to treatment and a maximum one-month wait from diagnosis to first treatment for all cancers.
	To tackle radiotherapy waiting times, we are increasing the numbers of therapy radiographers in post and in training, making better use of existing staff, making unprecedented investment in new radiotherapy equipment, and streamlining the patient journey. Professor Mike Richards, the national cancer director, is also currently working with Royal Colleges, professional bodies, cancer networks and trusts through the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group, who are looking into radiotherapy provision and will be reporting in the summer on recommendations for long-term solutions for the future.

Salt Intake

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the likely impact on the future incidence of (a) strokes and (b) heart disease in the UK of the revised salt reduction targets.

Caroline Flint: High salt intakes are associated with high blood pressure, which is one of a number of risk factors that contribute to the incidence of cardiovascular disease. There are also other risk factors which contribute to high blood pressure such as being overweight, physical inactivity, and excess alcohol consumption. It is difficult to accurately separate out the impact of salt reduction, from other factors, on the incidence of strokes and heart disease and my Department has not made an evaluation of this type.

Salt Intake

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1) what estimate her Department has made of the achievability of lowering the average daily salt intake of children to a maximum of 3g for 4 to 6-year-olds and 5gfor 7 to 10-year-olds;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the revised salt reduction targets for various foods on the aim to reduce average salt intake in adults to a maximum of 6g per day.

Caroline Flint: Achievement of the Government's targets for reducing salt intakes of adults and children will be dependent upon a range of factors. In addition to the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) voluntary salt reduction targets, changes in consumption patterns and reductions in the amount of salt added to foods by consumers will have an impact. It is not possible to predict accurately exactly when the targets for dietary intakes will be met for adults and children.
	The FSA's salt reduction targets, however, cover those foods that contribute most of the salt in the diet of both adults and children, and have been set at levels that are both challenging and will have a real impact on consumers' intakes. The FSA aims to monitor reductions in consumers' salt intakes using urinary monitoring and will review the salt reduction targets in 2008 to ensure continued progress towards the dietary intake targets.

Section 64 Funding

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone) of 13 March 2006, Official Report, column 2028W, on section 64 funding, when she expects the review to start; and how long she expects it to last.

Liam Byrne: A review of departmental funding to the third sector will take place during 200607 but detailed plans are not yet in place. An announcement will be made when arrangements have been finalised. This will include information on consultation and how the third sector can get involved.

Social Exclusion

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding streams her Department plans to finance in 200607 to tackle social exclusion.

Liam Byrne: Social exclusion is a multi-faceted problem. Many of the Department's funding streams will help to tackle the causes and consequences of social exclusion. For example, the weighted capitation formula, used to inform the 200608 revenue allocations to primary care trusts, takes account of need and some element of unmet need, and so targets funding towards disadvantaged areas across the country.

Suppliers (Bill Payments)

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the average time each trust hospital took to pay bills to outside suppliers in 200405.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not currently collect specific information on the period of time national health service trusts take to pay suppliers.
	However, NHS trusts are required to comply with the Confederation of British Industry's better payment practice code and have been given a target of paying 95 per cent. of undisputed invoices within contract terms or 30 days where no terms have been agreed.
	In 200405, NHS trusts paid 83 per cent. of their bills within 30 days or contracted terms.

Tariffs

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on direct access tariffs in the NHS.

Liam Byrne: Direct access services are currently outside the scope of payment by results. Funding for services outside the scope of payment by results continues to be negotiated locally.

Temporary/Agency Staff

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the cost of employing temporary and agency staff in her Department in 200506.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not collect information that would provide an analysis of temporary staff. To date in 200506, the total cost of agency staff employed directly on departmental administration work, where in-house resources were not available, is 6.489 million.

Wider Partnerships Initiative

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much revenue (a) her Department and its arm's length bodies and (b) the NHS have generated through the wider partnerships initiative.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Worcestershire Royal Hospital

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2006, Official Report, c. 726W, on Worcestershire Royal Hospital, when the West Midlands South Strategic Health Authority will write to the hon. Member for west Worcestershire as indicated in the reply.

Rosie Winterton: West Midlands South Strategic Health Authority wrote to the hon. Member on 19 April 2006.

York Hospital

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were on the waiting list for elective admissions to York Hospital in March in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		Patients waiting for elective admission, all specialties, York Hospitals National Health Service Trust
		
			 Period Total waiting list 
		
		
			 March 1997 6,846 
			 March 1998 8,445 
			 March 1999 6,715 
			 March 2000 6,477 
			 March 2001 6,317 
			 March 2002 6,354 
			 March 2003 6,425 
			 March 2004 5,714 
			 March 2005 5,211 
			 February 2006 4,775 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH07 and monthly monitoring

York Hospital

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for patients waiting for elective admissions to York Hospital at the end of March in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		Patients waiting for elective admission, all specialties, York Hospitals National Health Service Trustestimated average waiting time
		
			 Period Median time waiting so far (weeks) 
		
		
			 March 1997 12.0 
			 March 1998 15.9 
			 March 1999 13.1 
			 March 2000 15.2 
			 March 2001 15.7 
			 March 2002 16.8 
			 March 2003 14.6 
			 March 2004 11.7 
			 March 2005 10.2 
			 February 2006 8.5 
		
	
	Source:
	Calculated using data from Department of Health form KH07 and monthly monitoring